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PAPERS 



OF THE 



HAWAIIAN HISTORICAL SOCIKTY 



No. 9 




The Uncompleted Treaty of Annexation 

OF 1854. 



Presented before the Hawaiian Historical Society July 2, 1897, by 
Prof. W. D. Alexander. 



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AN ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

UNCOMPLETED TREATY OF ANNEXATI 

BETWEEN 

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 



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AND 




THE HAWAIIAN KINGDOM, 
Negotiated in 1854. 



The present seems to the writer to be a proper time to lay before 
the members of the Historical Society a full account of the uncom- 
pleted treaty of annexation, negotiated in 1854, between Hon. D. 
L. Gregg, representing the United States, and His Excellency E. 
C. Wyllie, representing the King of the Hawaiian Islands. 

In order to understand the causes which led to the opening of 
negotiations by Kamehameha III. and his Cabinet in 1854 for 
annexation to the United States, it is necessary to go back several 
years and review the history of those troublous times. 

The Application for a Protectorate in 1851. 

The subject of annexation to the United States was for the first 
time seriously considered by the Hawaiian Government in 1851. 
The proposition was forced upon the attention of the King at that 
time by the unsettled difficulties with France, which had been 
fomented, if not created, by M. Patrick Dillon, in 1848-9. It is 
not necessary here to recapitulate the history of the affair of 1849, 
of the famous ten demands drawn up by M. Dillon, and of the 






"reprisals" taken by Admiral De Tromelin. An embassy had 
afterwards been sent to Paris, which from no fault of its members, 
proved unsuccessful. After the return of this embassy, M. Em. 
Perrin was sent to Honolulu as Commissioner of France, in the 
corvette " Serieuse," which arrived at Honolulu, December 13, 
1850, and remained in port three months, without exchanging 
salutes with the fort. To the surprise of all, he persisted in 
pressing the identical ten demands, presented by Admiral De 
Tromelin in 1849, and his attitude becpme so menacing that the 
King and Privy Council were finally driven to seek protection 
from one of the great Powers. On the 10th of March, 1851, they 
passed a proclamation, placing the Islands provisionally under 
the protection of the United States of America. (See Appendix A.) 
They had, however, previously applied to General Miller, the 
British Consul-General, who reluctantly admitted that the Con- 
vention between France and Great Britain of November 28th, 
1843, effectually debarred his Government from accepting a pro- 
tectorate over the Islands. 

On the next day, a conditional deed of cession of the Kingdom 
to the United States was drawn up, signed and delivered in a 
sealed envelope to Hon. L. Severance, the Commissioner of the 
United States, by two of the King's ministers. This was to be 
acted upon only in case of an emergency, the signal of which was 
to be the raising of the flag of the United States above that of Ha- 
waii over the fort. In that case, the sovereignty of the Islands 
was to be ceded to the United States, to be held in trust until a 
settlement of their relations with France, "compatible with the 
King's rights as an independent sovereign," could be made, and if 
this should be found to be impracticable, the said protectorate was 
to be perpetual. 

The U. S. S. " Vandalia," Captain Gardner, was in port at the 
time. The deed of cession was accepted by Mr. Severance pro- 
visionally, and referred to his government. Mr. W. C. Parke, the 
Marshal, was directed to have the Hawaiian and American flags 



sewed together, and kept in readiness to be hoisted at a moments' 
notice. He remained in the fort, night and day, on the watch, 
during the 15th and 16th of March. By some means, the British 
Consul-General learned of what had been done, and informed M. 
Perrin, who thereupon withdrew the most obnoxious of his de- 
mands, and a joint declaration, comprising four articles, was 
signed by both parties, March 25th (See Appendix). 

It appears, however, that M. Perrin used language in his later 
despatches, which threatened to re-open questions that had been 
supposed to be closed. An appeal to the President of the United 
States was therefore drawn up and presented to Mr. Severance, 
which was taken to Washington by Hon. E. H. Allen, then Unit- 
ed States Consul, who sailed on this mission April 4th, 1851. 
(See Appendix.) M. Perrin left for Paris May 24th, to obtain fresh 
instructions, and did not return until January 8th, 1853. Noth- 
ing more was ever heard of the rest of the ten demands. Mr. 
"Webster, the United States Secretary of State, made strong repre- 
sentations to the French Government on the subject, but directed 
Mr. Severance to return to the Hawaiian Government the deed of 
cession, which had been placed in his keeping. (See Mr. Web- 
ster's letter of July 14, 1851, to L. Severance, Esq). 

A joint resolution was passed by both houses of the Hawaiian 
Legislature June 21st, 1851, confirming the action of the Privy 
Council, and empowering the King and Privy Council to place 
the Kingdom under the protection of some friendly power, if 
necessary "to shield it from insult and oppression." (See Ap- 
pendix). 

In the following year, in framing the new Constitution, a clause 
was inserted in Article 39, which empowered the King by and 
with the approval of his Cabinet and Privy Council, to even alien- 
ate his Kingdom, " if indispensable to free it from the insult and 
oppression of any foreign power." This shows that the apprehen- 
sion of some impending danger was still present to the minds of 
the King and his advisers. 



Filibusters. 

The discovery of gold in California in 1848, which led to the 
speedy settlement of that State, and to the opening of new routes 
across the American continent, ushered in a new era in the history 
of the Hawaiian Islands. It opened a new market for their pro- 
ductions, and brought them into closer commercial relations 
with the United States. Communication became frequent between 
them and America, and capital began to be largely invested here. 

At that time California was resorted to by numerous lawless ad- 
venturers, who planned a number of raids or filibustering expedi- 
tions into the neighboring countries. The notorious Gen. Walker 
headed a raid of this kind into Lower California in 1853, and 
others into Nicaragua in 1855 and 1861, in the last of which he 
was taken prisoner and shot. 

The Hawaiian Government received many warnings in the fall 
of 1851 that a band of filibusters was being organized to invade 
this kingdom. At the request of the Cabinet, the U. S. S. " Van- 
dalia," Captain Gardner, was kept at Honolulu, ready to seize 
any suspicious vessel, and a body of 100 native troops was drilled 
for several months by Lieutenant Read of the " Vandalia." 

About twenty -five suspicious characters, headed by Sam. Bran- 
nan, came down from San Francisco in November, 1851, in the 
ship " Game Cock." 

During the voyage the mail bag was rifled by members of the 
party, and the letters thrown overboard. They were under the 
false impression that the country was ripe for revolution, and 
that the King was ready to sell his kingdom, and to retire from 
the cares of state. But they soon found that they had been de- 
ceived in regard to the feeling of the natives, and that the officers 
and men of the whaling fleet were also hostile to them. They 
were closely watched, the King declined to see them, and the ex- 
pedition ended in a fiasco. 

During the years 1853-54 the country was disquieted by fre- 



quent rumors of filibustering expeditions being fitted out, and 
British and American ships of war were kept in port much of the 
time, as a safe-guard. Mr. Wyllie strongly advocated the plan 
of organizing a force of 5000 militia, to consist of natives armed 
with pikes, and a small contingent of cavalry, together with 100 
regular troops, for defense against filibusters, but it was rejected 
by the Privy Council. 

The Political Agitation of 1853. 

During the years 1850-54 a considerable immigration from 
California took place. It embraced many restless, ambitious 
spirits, some of whom came for the purpose of exciting revolution. 
They found the foreign community already split into factions, be- 
tween which bitter feuds existed of long standing. Many of the 
new-comers naturally joined the opposition party, which claimed 
to be the liberal and progressive element in the country. 

The plan of the leaders of the new movement seems to have 
been to reconstruct the government, and then to turn it over to 
the United States. A secret Committee of Thirteen was appoint- 
ed to carry out their designs. Their first object was to bring- 
about the removal of two of the ministers, viz., Messrs. Armstrong 
and Judd. The unsuccessful attempt to make political capital 
out of the small-pox epidemic of 1853 was discreditable to all en- 
gaged in it. At the same time an active agitation was commenced 
in favor of annexation, and the two obnoxious ministers were ac- 
cused of being an obstacle in the way of it. Threats were freely 
used to intimidate the King and chiefs into dismissing them. 

In August a memorial in favor of annexation was presented to 
the King, which was signed by seventeen respectable residents, 
who were supporters of the Cabinet. This called out a card, 
published September 10, 1853, signed by Revs. E. W. Clark and 
P. J. Gulick, declaring that "the Protestant missionaries at the 
Islands have never engaged in any scheme of annexation. It has 
been their cherished wish that the government may remain hide- 



pendent under the present Constitution and rulers. Whatever 
may have been done by merchants, planters and others, the Pro- 
testant clergymen at the Islands have neither advised nor signed 
any memorial to the King' touching annexation." In a letter pub- 
lished in Aug'ust, 1864, Mr Clark stated that at the annual convo- 
cation in May, 1853, he had frequent conversations with other 
missionaries on this engrossing subject. "Not one of them ex- 
pressed an opinion in its favor, but on the contrary, they did ex- 
press doubts as to its expediency, and grave apprehensions of dis- 
aster to the natives from the influx of lawless and unprincipled 
foreigners." With this agreed the known views of the French 
Catholic missionaries. 

The memorial created no little excitement among the British 
and French residents. The representatives of Great Britain and 
France solicited an audience with the King and Privy Council, 
which was granted September 1st, when they presented a joint 
address to the King, protesting against any attempt to annex the 
Islands to any foreign power as in contravention of existing trea- 
ties, as well as unconstitutional. This was replied to in an able 
despatch addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs by Hon. L. 
Severance, the United States Commissioner, September 3d. (See 
Appendix). 

A few days later the whole Cabinet resigned, bnt were all reap- 
pointed with the exception of Dr. Judd, who was succeeded by 
Hon. E. H. Allen, whose appointment gave general satisfaction, 
and caused no change in the policy of the Cabinet. The result was 
a virtual defeat of the scheme of the " Thirteen." 

Growth of Annexation Sentiment, 1854. 

Hon. L. Severance, the United States Commissioner, returned 
to the United States in December, 1853, and was succeeded by 
Hon. D. L. Gregg of Illinois, who arrived in Honolulu January 
6th, 1854. 

Meanwhile the sentiment in favor of annexation seems to have 



been growing in strength. Three-fourths of the business was in 
the hands of Americans, and the chief market of the Islands was 
then as now the Pacific coast of the United States. The hope of 
it stimulated speculation, and led to new enterprises, some of which 
were afterwards abandoned. 

The fearful decrease of the native population (several thousands 
of whom had been carried off by the fatal epidemic of 1853), the 
rapid extinction of the order of the chiefs, who were the natural 
leaders of their race, the relapse of the King into habits of gross 
intemperance, and the perils from without over-hanging the feeble 
government, disheartened many true friends of the nation, and 
led them to favor the preliminary steps then taken toward annex- 
ation. The objections of the missionaries to that measure have 
already been stated. They feared that the rights of the natives 
might be trampled upon, and their interests sacrificed. A new 
and liberal Constitution had just been adopted, (in 1852), and 
they fondly hoped that the natives would soon learn how to use 
their newly granted lands and political rights. 

The Ministry, as a whole, favored annexation, but Mr. Wyllie 
acquiesced in it unwillingly, and only as a last resort, in the case 
of an emergency. 

During the two following reigns he developed a decided anti- 
pathy to American influence, and American ideas. 

The King, however, strongly favored annexation. He had long 
been harassed by the threats of foreign powers; he had once been 
dethroned by a British naval force; he had repeatedly been com- 
pelled to make humiliating concessions at the cannon's mouth; he 
had recently seen his fort dismantled, and his beautiful yacht car- 
ried off, and his difficulties with France still remained unsettled. 
At the same time he was kept in a state of alarm by rumors of 
filibusters from abroad, and threats of conspirators at home to 
overturn his government. He was deeply grateful for the con- 
stant and generous friendship of the United States, and for the 
benefits which his peoj)le had received from American citizens. 



8 

Besides, lie had reason to expect for himself and his chiefs a 
sum eqnal to the revenue of his kingdom, and for his people all 
the rights of a free state in the Union. As far as is known, most 
of the high chiefs agreed with him. 

The heir apparent, Prince Alexander Liholiho, however, was at 
heart opposed to the treaty, and interposed every possible delay 
to its completion. It is said that he and his brother, Lot Kame- 
hameha, never forgave some incivility which they had experienced 
on account of their color, when traveling in America. He was 
also moved by a laudable pride of country, a natural desire to 
reign, and a partiality to England and her institutions. 

The mass of the native population was never consulted, and was 
indifferent on the subject. Race antagonism had not yet been 
developed to any extent. A newspaper in the Hawaiian language, 
called the " Nuhou," edited by a Mr. Marsh, was started in Feb- 
ruary, 1854, to prepare the native mind for annexation, and was 
continued for six months. Another memorial on the subject, 
numerously signed, was presented to the King in January, 1854. 
It is singular that hardly an allusion to the subject can be foumd 
in the Honolulu papers at the time, and none in any of the official 
reports of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

Negotiation of the Treaty. 

In February, 1854, the matter took a more definite shape. On 
the 6th of that month, in view of danger from filibusters and con- 
spirators, the King commanded Mr. Wyllie to ascertain on what 
terms a treaty of annexation could be negotiated, to be used as a 
safeguard to meet any sudden danger that might arise. Every 
proposition was to be considered by the Cabinet and Prince Liho- 
liho, and the treaty as a whole was to be submitted to His Majesty 
for his approval, modification or rejection. (See Appendix). 

The negotiations were carried on between Mr. Wyllie and Mr. 
Gregg with the utmost secrecy. At the second meeting, February 
11, Mr. Gregg agreed to proceed with a negotiation ad referendum, 



and wrote to the United States Secretary of State for instructions. 
A basis for negotiations, framed by Judge Lee, and approved by 
the King and his Ministers, was afterward presented to Mr. 
Gregg, guaranteeing to Hawaiian subjects all the rights of Amer- 
ican citizens, providing for the admission of the Hawaiian Islands 
as a State into the Union, for a due compensation to the King 
and chiefs, and a liberal sum for the support of schools. The 
amount of compensation to be asked for had been referred to a 
committee, Avho recommended that a lump sum, viz., $300,000, 
be distributed in the form of annuities by the King and his Coun- 
cil. 

At their 6th meeting, June 1st, Mr. Gregg stated that he had 
received full powers and instructions from his own government. 
At Mr. Wyllie' s request he then proceeded to draft an outline of the 
treaty. He was furnished with detailed statements of the proper- 
ty owned by the Hawaiian Government, and of the salaries paid 
by it. An interval of two months followed, during which the 
treaty made very little progress. 

In a private letter from Mr. Wyllie to Judge Lee, dated June 
23d, he says: "The treaty is now before Prince Liholiho, with 
the amendments suggested by you. To be able to save the King, 
and chiefs and people at a moment's warning, it is desirable that 
the treaty should be concluded diplomatically, I mean, signed by 
the Plenipotentiaries, but subject to future ratification." Again, 
July 11th, Mr. "Wyllie writes to Judge Lee as follows: "Liho- 
liho keeps out of the way, and he has not returned the treaties, 
though I have often asked him for them. Of my draft I have no 
copy." 

The Fourth of July was celebrated at Honolulu this year with 
unusual enthusiasm, and in Mr. Gregg's oration allusion was 
made to the prospect that a new star would soon be added to the 
constellation of States. 

On the 17th of July a combined British and French fleet of 
eight vessels arrived from Callao, on their way to attack the Rus- 



10 

sian fortress of Petropaulosky. The two admirals and their offi- 
cers had a reception at the Palace, at which the French Admiral 
said, at M. Perrin's suggestion, that he hoped there was no 
thought of alienating the sovereignty of the kingdom, as that 
would lead to difficulties with France and England, which it 
would be wise to avoid. The King made no reply. 

In a letter from Mr. Gregg to the United States Secretary of 
State, dated July 26th, he states that "a meeting was held on 
the 17th, at which Prince Alexander was present, when it was 
agreed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs should immediately 
proceed, if possible, to arrange and sign a treat}*- to be submitted 
to the King for ratification. Mr. "Wyllie called on me the next 
day, and we have had several conferences, but without as yet 
arriving at any definite result." 

"* * * Prince Alexander is responsible for all past delay, 
and he will not hesitate to incur the responsibility of still more, 
unless his mind is brought to the conviction that it is impossible 
for him ever to wear a crown. * * * If a treaty is once sign- 
ed, he will not oppose its ratification directly and openly, but 
strive to postpone it to the last moment compatible with safety." 

The two principal difficulties were, first, the objection of the 
Hawaiian authorities to a territorial form of government, and, 
secondly, the question as to the amount of the annuities to be 
paid, the Hawaiian^ Government insisting on $300,000 as a sine 
qua non. One article provided for the payment of $75,000 per 
annum for ten years for educational purposes, one-third of which 
was to be capitalized for the support of a college or university. 

Judge Lee expressed his views in regard to the treaty in a letter 
to Mr. Wyllie, dated August 29th, in which he stated that it was 
' ' the wish of the King and chiefs to be admitted as a State, and 
they must not be deceived by any ambiguity in the phraseology of 
the treaty. They wish by this article to shield the nation from 
slavery, and it would be dishonorable to leave so vital a question 
involved in any doubt." At that time the repeal of the Missouri 



11 

Compromise had begun to be agitated in Congress, and party feel- 
ing was intense. It is said that Senator Sumner wrote to an in- 
fluential missionary in the Islands, warning the King and natives 
against annexation, on the ground that it would lead to the intro- 
duction of slavery into their country. An article to this effect 
appeared in the New York Tribune of July 20th, 1854, and caused 
much excitement at the Islands. 

Mr. Gregg conceded the two disputed points, " ad referendum," 
and a copy of the treaty as completed, was laid before the King in 
Cabinet Council, September 4th, and fully explained to him in all 
its details. He fully approved of it, but wished to consult a few 
of his chiefs before taking final action. 

Near the close of the Legislative session of 1854, August 4th, 
Mr. Kaholeku offered a resolution in the House of Representatives, 
requesting the Minister of Foreign Affairs to inform the House 
whether the King had applied for annexation to the United States 
on account of trouble with France and England, as reported in the 
New York Herald. The subject was referred to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations, who never reported on it. 

On the 26th of August, Prince Liholiho in the House of Nobles 
asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs, whether it was true that 
England and France were making trouble, so as to force the King 
to annex his kingdom to the United States. 

In reply, Mr. Wyllie denied the statement, asserting that those 
Powers were anxious to maintain the independence of the Islands, 
but he said that in the internal condition of the kingdom there 
was danger, and there was no saying what changes that danger 
might lead the King to submit to. 

Procrastination and Failure of the Treaty. 

On the 18th of September, Gen. Miller, the Consul-General of 
Great Britain, had an audience of the King, when he delivered a 
tirade of more than an hour in length against annexation, and in 
denunciation of the government and people of the United States. 



12 

He read in full the article in the New York Tribune of July 
20th, to show that the designs of the United States were unfriend- 
ly to Hawaiian interests. The King- in his reply said that he 
much preferred that such communications should be made in 
writing, in order to prevent misunderstandings. 

Meanwhile the Crown Prince, Alexander, remained at Hawaii, 
to avoid signing the treaty. Weary of the delay, Mr. Gregg 
wrote September 12th, complaining of the procrastination, and 
threatening to withdraw from further negotiations, and to declare 
those which had already taken place to be at an end. 

The Prince was sent for, but did not come. Mr. Gregg wrote 
again November 1st, remonstrating against further delay in the 
^conclusion of the treaty. He used the following language. 
' ' The strong arm of the United States has been solicited for your 
protection. It has been kindly extended and held out, until at 
length self respect must soon dictate its withdrawal." This was 
regarded as a menace by Mr. Wyllie, and gave much offence. 

The U. S. S. "Portmouth," Captain Dornin, and the "St 
Mary's," Captain Bailey, were in fact detained in port during the 
fall of 1854, awaiting the results of the negotiations. The U. S. 
frigates " Susquehannah " and "Mississppi" also called on their 
way home from Japan, in the latter part of October 1854, and re- 
mained a week off the port of Honolulu. 

It would seem that an attempt was now made to intimidate the 
King into signing the treaty at once. Mr. Wyllie afterwards 
stated in his report as Minister of War to the legislature of 1858, 
that on the 12th of November he was informed that there was im- 
minent danger of a revolution, " that there were dangerous men 
from California, well armed, who insisted on the King's immedi- 
ate sanction of annexation to the United States, without waiting 
for the arrival of the Crown Prince or the consent of the Legisla- 
ture. That they would be joined by three hundred or more of the 
American residents here. That if unsuccessful then, they would 
be joined by three hundred men of the same dangerous character, 



13 

who were to arrive from California by the "America," and fifty 
that would arrive by the "Ianthe." That if we attempted to 
resist a force so determined, the King's Government would be up- 
set, public and private property plundered, and perhaps the town 
set on fire. That three individuals* should have a private con- 
ference with the King instantly, so as to convince His Majesty 
of the truth of these dangers, and that he could only avoid them 
by annexation to the United States." 

A Cabinet Council was then called, at which Mr. Wyllie was 
ordered to make these threats known to the representatives of the 
three great maritime powers. Mr. Gregg had already written to 
Mr. Wyllie, to assure him that the forces of the United States 
were ready to co-operate ' ' in repressing any unlawful attempts of 
reckless adventurers, claiming to be American citizens, against 
the peace and dignity of His Majesty's Grovernment." Mr. Wyllie 
immediately applied to the representatives of France, Great 
Britain and the United States, and was promised the aid of 200 
men from the U. S. ships "Portsmouth" and "St. Mary's," of 
100 men from H. B. M.'s ship " Trincomalee," and of 500 men 
from the French frigate " Artemise." 

He further improved the opportunity to declare that ' ' negotia- 
tions should be suspended, until they could be honorably resumed 
after every trace of coercion had been removed." (See his letter 
of November 26th, to Judge Lee.) On the 13th of December he 
issued a proclamation in the King's name, declaring that His 
Majesty had accepted the assistance of the three powers named 
above, and that his " independence was more firmly established 
than ever before." 

This called out from Mr. Gregg a despatch denying that the 
United States had any intention of entering into any tripartite 
protectorate of the King's government, or that his and Captain 
Dornin's offers should be taken as equivalent to a permanent guar- 



Dr. Judd, Dr. Wood and Mr. Swan. 



14 

antee of its independence. The expected filibusters never ap- 
peared. 

The Crown Prince Alexander Liholiho arrived at last from Ha- 
waii, December 1st, and it is stated on good authority that he 
agreed to sign the treaty, and that a day (December 12) was set 
for the ceremony. 

The King is said (by Mrs. Judd) to have been "more eager 
than ever" to complete the business, when he was suddenly taken 
ill, and expired in five or six days, on the 15th of December, 1854, 
in the forty-second year of his age. His untimely death was un- 
doubtedly hastened by excessive intemperance towards the last. 
Aside from this unfortunate failing, he had many noble traits. 

As Mr. Severance truly said, "His partiality to Americans has 
always been strong, and it will be universally conceded that by 
his death they have lost a faithful and honorable friend." 

His adopted son and heir, Alexander Liholiho, was immediately 
proclaimed king, under the title of Kamehameha IV. Soon after- 
wards he expressed his wish that the negotiations that had been 
begun with Mr. Gregg should be broken off, which was done. 

As Mr. Marcy afterwards stated, in his letter to Mr. Gregg of 
January 31, 1855, the President would never have approved of a 
treaty, admitting the Islands into the Union as a State, to say 
nothing of other objections of minor importance. In fact, the 
whole movement, as we now look back upon it, seems to have 
been premature and unnecessary. W. D. A. 



APPENDIX A. 



PROTECTORATE PROCLAMATION. 

Honolulu, March 10th, 1851. 

We, Kamehameha III., by the Grace of God, of the Hawaiian Islands, 
King- . 
By and with the advice and consent of Our Kuhina Nui and Council 
of native Chiefs, finding- Our relations with France so oppressive to Our 
Kingdom, so inconsistent with its rights, as an independent state, and 
so obstructive of all Our endeavors to administer the Government of 
Our Islands with equal justice to all nations and equal independence ol 
all foreign control, and despairing- of equity and justice from France; 

Hereby proclaim as Our Royal will and pleasure that all Our islands, 
and all Our rights as a sovereign over them, are from the date hereof, 
placed under the Protection and Safeguard of the United States of 
America, until some arrangements can be made to place Our said rela- 
tions with France upon a footing compatible with Our rig-hts as an inde- 
pendent sovereign, under the law of nations, and compatible with Our 
treaty engagements with other foreign nations; or if such arrangements 
should be found impracticable, then it is Our wish and pleasure that the 
protection aforesaid under the United States of America be perpetual. 

And We further proclaimed as aforesaid, that from the date of the 
publication hereof, the flag of the United States of America shall be 
hoisted above the national ensign on all Our forts and places and vessels 
navigating with Hawaiian registers. 

Signed by the King and Kuhina Nui. 
March 10th, 1851. 



RESOLUTION OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL ABOUT THE JOINT 
DECLARATION, MARCH 29TH, 1851. 

Whereas, in view of the declaration of the Commissioner of France in 
his memorandum of February 1st, and in his despatch No. 12 of February 
27th, that the difficulties with France are reduced to two, viz., the lib- 
erty of Catholic worship and the trade in spirits; and, 



16 

Whereas, the Joint Declaration sanctioned, comprises a settlement of 
these two questions in the view of the King and Council; 

Resolved: That the Minister of Foreign Relations is authorized 
and instructed to sign the four articles of the said declaration, and to 
refer to the sole decision of the President of the French Republic the 
question of indemnity to the King as transmitted to Mr. Perrin in Mr. 
Wyllie's despatch No. 21, on the understanding that this reference is to 
be acted upon only after the President shall have admitted that all 
pending difficulties are thus settled. 

Joint Declaration. 

The President of the French Republic, and the King of the Hawaiian 
Islands, animated by an equal desire to terminate the adjustment of 
pending difficulties between the two countries, and to prevent their re- 
turn, for the future, by assuring the just and complete execution of the 
convention of the 26th of March, 1846, in regard to the points in contro- 
versy, through a new official Act, destined to interpret it, have chosen 
for this purpose, the undersigned Commissioner of the French Repub- 
lic, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the 
signers of the Treaty above mentioned, who, after having exchanged 
their full powers, found in good form, have agreed to the terms of the 
following declaration: 

1. The Treaty of the 26th of March, 1846, will be faithfully adopted 
and interpreted in the two texts, French and Hawaiian, the only ones 
officially signed. It remains agreed in all the cases where the Foreign 
Judges not understanding French, have to decide, the text of the Eng- 
lish Treaty, officially declared identical, under reserve of the III. Arti- 
cle, shall be considered as an exact translation. 

2. Without admitting that by the establishment of a Custom House 
duty of $5 per gallon, upon spirits, the Hawaiian Government have gone 
beyond the exclusive power, which France herself had granted to them, 
through the means of the wording of the VI. Article of the Treaty 
above mentioned (an assertion, in regard to which, the undersigned 
French Commissioner makes all reserves), and after having proved that 
the effects of that duty have been profitable to France, and hurtful to 
the English and American trade in spirits, the King of the Sandwich 
Islands declares himself disposed to submit the question of the reduc- 
tion of duty to $2.50 per gallon, as a maximum, to the Legislature, which 
is to assemble next month, as a measure of political economy, which 



17 

the Chamber of Commerce of Honolulu have recommended on strong 
grounds. 

3. The Government of the King cannot recognize, on the parL of any 
foreign nation, the right of dictating or prescribing laws to them, on 
matters which affect only the religious belief or secular education of 
the native subjects of the King; nevertheless, disposed to admit the 
third of the demands presented by M. Perrin, on the 1st of February 
last, as a friendly suggestion, destined for the examination of the Leg- 
islature which is to assemble this year, the Hawaiian Government will 
place these assemblies in a position to decide, whether the equality be- 
tween the Protestants and the Catholics, under the protection of the 
Constitution and the Laws, of which numerous proofs have been fur- 
nished, does not yet require something for its perfect application. 

4. Documents presented by French citizens, in their own language, 
will be received in all the cases in which documents in the English lan- 
guage are received; but in the cases where the employes whose duty it 
is to make use of these documents do not understand French, it shall be 
incumbent, provisionally, on the party interested, to furnish a transla- 
tion of the document produced, which, to prevent all error and discus- 
sion, shall be certified by him as true. 

Honolulu, 25th March, 1851. 

R. C. WYLLIE, 

Minister of Foreign Belations. 

Le Commissaire de la Bepublique Francaise 
EM. PERRIN. 



APPEAL TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Relations of His Majesty, the 
King of the Hawaiian Islands, having unavoidably produced to the 
undersigned, Commissioner of the United States an imperative Order, 
under the great seal of the Hawaiian Kingdom in Hawaiian and English, 
signed both by His Majesty and sealed by the royal signet and counter- 
signed by His Highness Keoni Ana, the " Kuhina Nui," and both dated 
the 28th of this month, proceeded to make the following statement to 
the undersigned Commissioner. 

That the King and chiefs remembering the events of 1839 and 1849, 
distrust France and fear her. 



18 

That they consider that France has not kept her engagement with 
Great Britain of the 28th of November, 1843, and does not mean to treat 
this Kingdom as under the protection of international law. 

That their fears had been abated, but were again revived by Monsieur 
Perrin's despatch No. 18 of the 22nd inst., and his " verbal note " of the 
15th to the undersigned Minister, which were laid before His Majesty 
and His Cabinet on the 28th. 

That the King from a conversation with Her Britannic Majesty's 
Consul-General, believes that Great Britain is so fettered with France 
that she can afford him no certain hope of present relief. 

That the King therefore, unable to protect the large American and 
other national interests in this Kingdom, appealed in his helplessness 
to the Commissioner of the United States, and now solemnly appeals to 
the President. 

The King would prefer the following alternatives in the order in 
which they are placed. 

1. To secure those large interests equally against all possible danger 
from Foreign Powers, under the safeguard of the Republic of the United 
States, and (if it can be arranged by the President of the United States 
without unsafe delay), under the safeguard of Great Britain also and of 
France. 

2. Unless the last conform with the other two, then under the pro- 
tection of the United States and England only. 

3. If England do not consent, then of the United States only. 

4. The King would prefer that this Kingdom be received as an Inde- 
pendent State, under protection merely from foreign aggression. 

If that cannot be done, rather than continue to be the victim of 
foreign aggression, the mere shadow of a king without the power, but 
with responsibilities measured out by the arbitrary rule of the strong, 
We will resign the Sovereignty of these Islands into the hands of the 
United States under their guaranty of His private rights and heredita- 
ments, a due provision for Himself, His Queen, the Heir apparent, His 
chiefs, His high officers, all private property and rights, and of all 
engagements of whatsoever kind, lawfully incumbent upon Him to fulfil 
and discharge. 

6. The King desires that a secret arrangement be made with the 
authority and consent of the United States on the basis of one or other 
of these alternatives, to be instantly acted upon on the emergency of 



19 

any sudden danger, and not to be acted upon or even mentioned, if 
through the good offices of the Resident of the United States, France 
and other maritime powers will engage to let Him alone, with power to 
govern and seek the protection of his people in his own way, and to pro- 
tect foreign residents and their interests without persisting in exacting 
of him greater responsibilities that can be required of any Sovereign 
under the laws of nations. 

7. The King with the full experience of Capt. Laplace in 1839 and 
of Admiral de Tromelin in 1849, acknowledges his utter want of power 
to protect the citizens of the United States and their large interests in 
His Islands under a repetition of such lawless invasions, and as He has 
no confidence that they will not be repeated, on the most trifling com- 
plaint against His Government, His Majesty would be glad to see such 
a provisional occupation of His Islands by the armed forces of the United 
States and their interests, until time be afforded to mature some perma- 
nent arrangement in one or other of the ways hereinbefore mentioned. 

The undersigned, Commissioner of the United States, having heard 
and considered these solemn proposals made in the name and by impera- 
tive order of His Majesty King Kamehameha III, agrees to transmit a 
copy thereof immediately to the Government of the United States, ask- 
ing for full power and authority how to act, and that in the meanwhile 
the utmost possible secrecy shall be observed, and that he will continue 
to do all in his power for the protection of American interests, and to 
uphold the King's dignity and rights as an independent Sovereign in 
friendly relations with the United States, and appealing to them for 
protection. 

Done in duplicate in the city of Honolulu this 31st day of March, 1851. 
(Signed) [His Official Seal] LUTHER SEVERANCE. 

R. C. WYLLIE, 
[Seal of the Foreign Office] Minister of Foreign Relations. 



JOINT RESOLUTION. 

Be it Resolved by the Nobles and Representatives of the Hawaiian Islands in 
Legislative Council Assembled , 

That in the sense of this house, the demands of France are so clearly 
unjust and contrary to the laws of nations and to treaty, and the course 



20 

pursued by her so incompatible with the existence of a regular indepen- 
dent government in these islands; if France should persist in such a 
course it will be the duty of the King to shield himself and his kingdom 
from insult, and oppression by placing this kingdom under the protec- 
tion of some friendly state; and that should such emergency be so urgent 
as not to admit of the Legislative Council being convened, it shall be left 
to His Majesty by and with the advice of his Privy Council, under such 
emergency, to consult the honor and safety of his kingdom, according 
to His Majesty's best judgment; and that whatever he may do will be 
binding upon the nation. 

Passed both Houses of the Legislature June 21, 1851. 

W. L. LEE, 

Speaker of the House of Kepresentatives. 

KEONI ANA, 
President of the House of Nobles. 
Approved by the King, August 4, 1851. 

KAMEHAMEHA, 
KEONI ANA. 



ORDER OF THE KING TO MR. WYLLIE FEB. 6th 1854. 

Whereas, It has come to Our knowledge through the communications 
made to Us by divers discreet men who, We have reason to believe, are 
true friends to the Hawaiian nation, and through various other sources, 
that plans are on foot inimical to the peace of Our Kingdom and the wel- 
fare of our people, and such as if carried out would be wholly subversive 
of Our Sovereignty, and would reduce Us to the most deplorable of all 
states, a state of anarchy; and, 

Whereas, exigencies may arise of such a nature as to render it imper- 
ative upon Us, for the security of the just rights of Our chiefs and 
people, that We should seek the alliance of the United States of America. 

We do hereby command you, Our Minister of Foreign Relations, to 
take such immediate steps as may be necessary and proper, by negotia- 
tion or otherwise, to ascertain the views of the United States in rela- 
tion to the Annexation thereto of these Islands and also the terms and 
conditions upon which the same can be affected, with the object of being 



21 

fully prepared to meet any sudden danger that may arise, threatening 
the existence or independence of Our Kingdom. 

(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA III. 

JOHN YOUNG. 



Liholiho consents to the above Royal Command. 

Approved by WM. L. LEE. 



EXTRACT FROM INSTRUCTIONS OF FEB. 21, 1854. 

You will immediately enter upon a negotiation ad referendum with 
the Commissioners of the United States of America, in case of necessity, 
and which shall fully secure Our rights and the rights of Our chiefs 
and people, being assured by the Protocol No. 2., submitted to Us, of the 
willingness of the Commissioner of the United States to enter upon such 
negotiation. The Constitution of Our Kingdom has made Our Ministers 
special advisers in the executive affairs of the kingdom, and therefore 
you will submit to their consideration every proposal and every propo- 
sition that may be interchanged between you and the Commissioner of 
the United States, and your conduct will be governed by their decision. 
Prince Liholiho will join in the deliberations of the Cabinet Council, 
vote therein, and make his views known to Us. When the treaty ad 
referendum as aforesaid, is completed, you will submit the same to Us, 
which will be subject to Our approval, modification or rejection; and in 
case We shall deem it wise and necessary, to submit it to the Represen- 
tatives of Our people, subject also to their approval. 

(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA III. 



I hereby approve of the above instructions. 

LIHOLIHO. 



Signed by Keoni Ana, and all the Ministers. 



22 

REPLY BY HON. L. SEVERANCE TO THE PROTEST. 

United States Legation, [ 
Honolulu, September 3, 1853. \ 

Sir: — I have the honor of receiving your communication of this morn- 
ing, in which you say it was resolved by the King in Council, on the first 
day of the month, that you should pass to me officially a copy of the 
Joint Address to His Majesty by the representatives of Great Britain 
and France, made on that day, which you ha\e done by inclosing a copy, 
No. 17, of the Polynesian, published this morning. 

My thanks are due to the King and Council for taking immediate 
measures to apprise me officially of the exact contents of the address, 
which I perceive, remonstrates against the "extraordinary course 
adopted by some American merchants, landed proprietors and other 
citizens of the United States, to induce the King to alienate his sover- 
eignty and the independence of the Islands, by immediate negotiation 
for annexation to the United States." 

You are aware that the Government of the United States has never 
made any propositions to His Majesty's Government to annex the Isl- 
ands, though the matter has undoubtedly engaged the attention both 
of citizens of the United States and of subjects of the King. To me it is 
not surprising that the "merchants and landed proprietors," whether 
Americans or others, should perceive great commercial advantages in 
such a connection, considering that the principal part of the commerce 
of the Islands is with the United States, and that the Islands must look 
almost exclusively to the Pacific coast of the United States for a market 
for their products andjthe means of paying for their heavy imports. I 
perceive, therefore, nothing very extraordinary in the project remon- 
strated against. And if now, or at any future time, it shall be found to 
be decidedly for the interest of both countries to unite their sovereign- 
ties, I am unable to perceive any treaty or moral obligations on the 
part of either to forbid the desired union, or any good reason for for- 
eign interference to prevent it. 

French and English subjects might still be entitled to the privileges 
of the "most favored nation," and on the score of commercial advan- 
tages, cannot well complain of being subjected to the revenue laws of a 
country which consumes and pays for French manufactures and other 
products to the amount of forty millions of dollars annually, and of Brit- 
ish goods to the amount of one hundred millions annually, the revenue 



28 

laws of a country rapidly growing 1 , and whose trade is now of more value 
to Great Britain and France than that of any of their colonies, if not, 
indeed of all of them added together, vast as English colonies are. 

In view of these great interests, which would - be sacrificed by a dis- 
turbance of pacific relations (to say nothing of several millions of Amer- 
ican stocks held in Europe, whose value might, for the time, be serious- 
ly affected), it is not to be supposed that France will insist on the little 
advantage of importing into these Islands silks, wines, etc., to the 
amount of a few thousands of dollars at five per cent, duty, as she now 
does by her construction of the treaty of the 29th of March, 1846, a 
treaty which, instead of being a valid reason why the King should not 
transfer his sovereignty, is a standing and powerful argument to justify 
him in doing so, since that treaty denies to him one of the most import- 
ant attributes of sovereignty, — one in the highest degree essential to 
all independent nations. 

Still less is it to be supposed that Great Britain will claim the privileges 
of the "most favored nation" under the French treaty, since she has 
generously thrown up her own treaty of the same date and tenor, and 
substituted that of the 10th of July, 1851, in accordance with the Amer- 
ican treaty of Washington of the 20th of December, 1849. 

The right to cede or acquire territory, or to unite two independent 
nations by compact, is regarded as inherent in all independent sover- 
eignties. It has certainly been practised from time immemorial. The 
power which can cede a part, can cede all the parts. Modern history 
abounds with examples, and none more so than English and French his- 
tory. Annexation is neither a new thing, nor rare in our day, as the 
Arabs of Algeria, the Caffres of South Africa, and more than one hund- 
red and fifty millions of peopley^ean testify, — people, it is true, who may 
be benefited by the change; but whether so or not, I cannot admit that 
annexation by voluntary consent is any more illegal or reprehensible 
than annexation by conquest. But whether it be done by one process or 
the other, the Government of the United States can have no colonies. 
Whatever territory is added is an integral part of the whole, and sub- 
ject to the same national constitution and laws. 

The expediency of union with the United States I do not propose to 
consider at present, for I have no authority to say that the United 
States will consent to any terms that may be offered; yet I have no 
doubt if they shall be offered, they will be frankly received and duly 



24 

considered; but no sinister means of accomplishing the object, however 
desirable, will receive any favor from the United States. 

I am most happy to have your testimony that the Commissioner and 
Consuls of the United. States have acted fully and faithfully up to the 
principles declared by Mr. Webster and Mr. Clayton in the communica- 
tions referred to by you, and I am not permitted to doubt that you will 
have as little reason hereafter as you have now to disturb the friendly 
intentions of the government and people of the United States. 

My regard for the King and his government, and for the highly re- 
spectable representatives of Great Britain and Prance in these islands, 
who have deemed it their duty to interpose an official remonstrance, 
alike demand the utmost frankness in the expression of the sentiments 
I entertain, which I am sure they will appreciate. 

The agreement or joint declaration of the 28th of November, 1843, 
that neither Great Britain nor France would take possession of these 
islands, as a protectorate or otherwise, was creditable to those powers. 

The government of the United States was not a party to the engage- 
ment, neither was Kamehameha III, as far as appears. The parties to 
it, by their naval forces, had both made hostile demonstrations upon 
the King's Sovereignty. 

The United States have not; but both before and since, though their 
interests were far greater here than those of any or all other foreign 
powers, they have constantly respected the government of the King. 

They have never sought to limit the right of his government to frame 
its own system of finance, enact its own revenue laws, regulate its own 
system of public education, establish its own judicial policy, or demand- 
ed any special favors, and they were the first to recognize the complete 
and unqualified independence of the kingdom, by the treaty of the 20th 
of December, 1849. 

This treaty having been faithfully observed, there is nothing in the 
policy of the United States toward these islands which requires conceal- 
ment or demands an explanation, — nothing to disturb the harmony 
which happily exists between the United States and the great commer- 
cial powers of Europe. Lest silence on my part, after the publication 
of the joint remonstrance, should make a different impression here or 
elsewhere, and considering the distance from the seats of government 
of Europe and America, it may be advisable to depart from the usual 



25 

course in such matters, and to publish this letter also, to go with the 
remonstrance of the British and French representatives. 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

Your Obedient Servant, 

LUTHER SEVERANCE. 
To His Excellency 

Robert Crichton Wyllie, 

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Etc., Etc. 



26 

TEXT OF THE TREATY. 

Treaty of Annexation concluded between His Majesty the King of the Hawai- 
ian Islands, and the United States of America. 

His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, being- convinced that 
plans have been, and still are, on foot hostile to his sovereignty and to 
the peace of his Kingdom, which His Majesty is without power to resist, 
and against which it is his imperative duty to provide, in order to pre- 
vent the evils of anarchy and to secure the rights and prosperity of his 
subjects, and having in conscientious regard thereto, as well as to the 
general interests of his Kingdom, present and future, sought to incor- 
porate his Kingdom into the Union of the United States, as the means 
best calculated to attain these ends and perpetuate the blessings of free- 
dom and equal rights to himself, his chiefs, and his people; and the 
Government of the United States, being actuated solely by the desire 
to add to their security and prosperity and to meet the wishes of His 
Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, and of his Government, have 
determined to accomplish by treaty objects so important to their mutual 
and permanent: welfare. 

For that purpose His Majesty Kamehameha III., King of the Hawai- 
ian Islands, has granted full powers and instructions to Robert Crichton 
Wyllie, esquire, his minister of foreign relations, his secretary at war 
and of the navy, member of his privy council of state, member of the 
house of nobles, and chairman of the commissioners of his privy purse; 
and the President of the United States has invested with like powers 
David Lawrence Gregg, esquire, commissioner of said States to the said 
Kingdom; and the said plenipotentiaries, after exchanging their full 
powers, have agreed to and concluded the following articles: 

Article I. 

His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, acting in conformity 
with the power vested in him by the constitution of his Kingdom, and 
with the wishes of his chiefs and people, and of the heads of every de- 
partment of his Government, cedes to the United States his Kingdom, 
with all its territories, to be held by them in full sovereignty, subject 
only to the same constitutional provisions as the other States of the 
American Union. This cession includes all public lots and squares, Gov- 
ernment lands, mines and minerals, salt lakes and springs, fish ponds, 
public edifices, fortifications, barracks, forts, ports and harbors, reefs, 
docks, and magazines, arms, armaments and accoutrements, public 
archives, and funds, claims, debts, taxes and dues existing, available, 
and unpaid at the date of the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty. 

Article II. 

The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorporated into the 
American Union as a State, enjoying the same degree of sovereignty 
as other States, and admitted as such as soon as it can be done in con- 
sistency with the principles and requirements of the Federal Constitu- 
tion, to all the rights, privileges, and immunities of a State as aforesaid, 
on a perfect equality with the other States of the Union. 



27 

Article III. 

His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, his chiefs and subjects 
of every class, shall continue in the enjoyment of all their existing per- 
sonal and private rights, — civil, political and religious — to the utinost 
extent that is possible under the Federal Constitution, and shall possess 
and forever enjoy all the rights and privileges of citizens of the United 
States, on terms of perfect equality, in all respects, with other American 
citizens. 

Article IV. 

The decisions of the board of land commissioners made and not ap- 
pealed from at the date of the final ratification of this treaty, shall be 
and remain forever valid and undisturbed, and all titles to real estate 
which are now, or shall have then been declared valid under the laws 
of the Hawaiian Kingdom, shall be held to be equally valid by the Unit- 
ed States, and measures shall be adopted by the United States for the 
speedy and final adjudication of all unsettled claims to land fn conform- 
ity with the laws and usages under which they may have originated. 

Article V. 

All engagements of whatever kind, affecting the rights of corpora- 
tions or individuals, validly contracted, and lawfully incumbent upon 
the King's Government or the Hawaiian nation to pay and discharge, 
shall be respected and fulfilled in as prompt, full, and complete a man- 
ner as they would have been respected and fulfilled had no change of 
sovereignty taken place. 

Article VI. 

The public lands hereby ceded shall be subject to the laws regulating 
the public lands in other parts of the United States, liable, however, to 
such alterations and changes as Congress may from time to time enact. 
The grants of land for the promotion of education heretofore made by 
the Government of the King of the Hawaiian Islands shall be confirmed 
by the United States, which in addition thereto, shall grant and set 
apart for the purposes of common schools, seminaries of learning, and 
universities, so much of the public lands and of the proceeds thereof as 
may be equal proportionally to the grants for such purposes in any of 
the States of the Union. 

Article VII. 

The laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom, so far as they are compatible 
with republican institutions and conformable to the Constitution of the 
United States, shall be and remain in full force and effect until modified, 
changed, or repealed by the legislative authority of the State contem- 
plated by this treaty. 

Article VIII. 

In consideration of the cession made by this treaty, and in compensa- 
tion to all who may suffer or incur loss consequent thereon, the United 
States shall pay the aggregate sum of three hundred thousand dollars 
(300,000) as annuities to the King, the Queen, the crown prince, those 
standing next in succession to the throne, the chiefs and all other per- 



28 

sons whom the King- may wish to compensate or reward, to be appor- 
tioned as may be determined by His Majesty the King", and his privy 
council of state, which amounts to be apportioned as aforesaid, shall be 
paid ratably without deduction or offset on any ground or in any shape 
whatever, to the parties severally named in such apportionment, at Ho- 
nolulu, on the first day of July of each successive year so long 1 as they 
may live. It is, however, expressly agreed upon that on the demise of 
His present Majesty the annuity of the immediate heir to the throne 
shall then be increased to the same amount before allowed and paid to 
the King himself. 

As a further consideration for the cession herein made, and in order 
to place within the reach of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands the 
means of education, present and future, so as to ena.ble them the more 
perfectly to enjoy and discharge the rights and duties consequent upon 
a change from monarchical to republican institutions, the United States 
agree to set apart and pay over for the term of ten years the sum of 
seventy-five thousand dollars per annum, one-third of which shall be 
applied to constitute the principal of a fund for the benefit of a college 
or university, or colleges or universities, as the case may be, and the 
balance for the support of common schools, to be invested, secured, or 
applied as may be determined by the legislative authority of the Hawai- 
ian Islands, when admitted as a State into the Union, as aforesaid. 

Article IX. 

Immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of this treaty the 
President of the United States shall appoint a commissioner who shall 
receive in due form, in the name of the United States, the transfer of 
the sovereignty and territories of the Hawaiian Islands', also all public 
property, archives, and other things hereinbefore stipulated to be con- 
veyed, and who shall exercise all executive authority in said islands 
necessary to the preservation of peace and order, and to the proper ex- 
ecution of the laws, until the State contemplated in this treaty can be 
duly organized and admitted as such State; and until the arrival of such 
commissioner, all departments of His Majesty's Government shall con- 
tinue as now constituted. 

Article X. 

This treaty shall be ratified by the respective high contracting parties, 
and the ratifications exchanged at the city of Honolulu within eight 
months from the date hereof, or sooner, if possible, but it is agreed that 
this period may be extended by mutual consent of the two parties. 

In Witness Whereof, We, the undersigned, plenipotentiaries of 
His Majesty the King of the Hawaiian Islands, and of the United States 
of America, have signed three originals of this treaty of annexation in 
Hawaiian and three in English, and have thereunto affixed our respec- 
tive official seals. 

Done at Honolulu this day of , 

in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four. 



29 

SEPARATE AND SECRET ARTICLE. 

Whereas, It is desirable to guard against the exigencies declared in 
the preamble to the foregoing treaty, and to guard the King of the Ha- 
waiian Islands, his chiefs and all who reside under his jurisdiction from 
the dangers therein referred to and expressed; 

It IS hereby provided and expressly agreed that at any time before 
the final exchange of the ratifications of said treaty, if the same shall 
be duly ratified on the part of His Majesty the King and satisfactory 
notice thereof given to the commissioner of the United States, it shall 
be competent for His Majesty, by proclamation, to declare his islands 
annexed to the American Union, subject to the provisions of such treaty 
as negotiated; and the commissioner of the United States, for the time 
being, shall receive and accept the transfer of the jurisdiction of the 
said islands, in the name of the United States, and protect and defend 
them by the armed forces of the United States, as a part of the Amer- 
ican Union, holding the same for and in behalf of his Government, and 
exercising the jurisdiction provided for in said treaty, with the under- 
standing, however, that in case the said treaty is not finally ratified, or 
other arrangement made by the free consent and to the mutual satisfac- 
tion of the contracting parties, the sovereignty of the islands shall im- 
mediately revert, without prejudice, to His Majesty, or his immediate 
heir, in the same conditions as before transfer thereof; and it is further 
understood and agreed that this article shall be as binding for all the 
ends and purposes herein expressed as if it formed a part of the fore- 
going treaty. 



ANNEXATION OF THE SANDWICH ISLANDS. 

As, our readers will perceive by a special telegraphic despatch in 
another column, a treaty for the annexation of the Sandwich Islands to 
the United States is nearly concluded at Honolulu between David L. 
Gregg, the Commissioner of the United States, and King Kamehameha 
and the principal chiefs of his Government. At the date of our Corres- 
pondent's advice the matter was still kept a profound secret at the Isl- 
ands, and was revealed only to those official persons directly concerned 
in arranging the terms of the treaty. The King and nobles, it seems, 
are led to the step by the fear of filibusters from the United States on 
the one hand, or of attacks from European powers on the other. Anima- 
ted by dread of this sort and also by the notion that they may not here- 
after be able to get as much money for the sovereignty of the Islands as 
at present, they have decided to sell out now and deliver their merchan- 
dise and pocket the pay with all convenient despatch. The Constitution 
of the Islands, it seems, gives them full power to do that without con- 
sulting the nation at all, and accordingly the masses of the Kanaka peo- 



30 

pie will wake up some fine morning and find that their allegiance has 
been transferred to the United States, while they were sound asleep, 
not even dreaming of such a change. To them, however, doomed as 
they seem to be to perpetual inferiority and ultimate extinction, all 
political events are of little immediate consequence. Their condition 
and prospects must in all cases remain about the same. 

It seems that only one point remains unsettled in the treaty. The 
authorities at the Sandwich Islands desire to be received at once as a 
State, while Mr. Gregg, acting no doubt under instructions from the 
Administration at Washington, insists on their annexation as a Terri- 
tory. The reasons for the desire on the one hand, and the opposition 
on the other, are patent and intelligible. If the Islands come in as a 
State, it will be with a constitution forever excluding slavery, while if 
received as a Territory, there will be a chance for the introduction of 
negroes, and the building up of a slave-holding interest which can 
eventually control the Islands, and make a constitution on the South 
Carolina or Texas model. With the present Administration it is of 
course a primary object to have slavery introduced there, before the 
State Constitution is formed, by way of illustrating that principle of 
popular sovereignty so dear to Messrs. Pierce, Douglas, Toombs, Steph- 
ens, and the other leaders in the policy of extending the peculiar insti- 
tution. 

The future distribution of offices also has weight in the difference in 
regard to the condition in which the Islands shall come in. If they are 
admitted as a State, there will be a Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, U. 
S. Senators, and other important offices to be filled by election from 
among the people of the Islands, and to those offices the leading men 
there naturally aspire. On the other hand, if admitted as a Territory, 
the President at Washington will have the filling of the Governorship 
and other valuable territorial posts, and can advantageously use that 
patronage in buying up Congressional support for any measure he may 
desire to carry, by way of illustrating the great doctrines of legislative 
purity and popular sovereignty to which he is so eminently attached. 
Besides, if two Senators and two Members of the House should at once 
appear from the Sandwich Islands, and take their seats in Congress, 
who knows that they will be supporters of this tottering and despised 
Administration? Or rather, who does not know that they would, in all 
probability, be its opponents, and the zealous antagonists of every 
scheme for the extension of slavery, not only over their own but also 
over all other free soil? This being the case, the Administration is 
only pursuing a consistent course in seeking the glory and popularity of 



31 

annexing the Islands, without the inconveniences which, in a partisan 
and slave-driving point of view, might attend their admission as a State. 
— New York Daily Tribune, July 20, 1854, editorial, page 4. 

"The information received at the State Department from the Sand- 
wich Islands will arrest public attention. It seems King Kamehameha 
is impatient to become annexed to the United States, and has ag;ain ap- 
plied to our Consul at Honolulu, urging the speedy adoption of measures 
to effect that object. This subject has occupied the attention of the 
press and the people of this country for years, and yet we find that the 
present Administration has not taken even the first preliminary step 
towards carrying out an object of such vast importance, both political- 
ly and commercially to our citizens. 

" Ten millions of dollars for a strip of desert land beyond the confines 
of civilization, (the Gadsden Purchase), is abstracted from the Treasury 
without a scruple, a tempest in a teapot is raised over the Koszta affair, 
and much valuable ink and paper is spoiled in discussing the peculiar- 
ities of breeches and buttons; but the Sandwich Islands — the halfway 
point between California and China, and the resort of our immense 
whaling fleet, — cannot receive a moment's attention from our govern- 
ment. Let us have the Sandwich Islands, small pox, missionaries, vol- 
canoes, and King Kamehameha, admitted into the Union without delay." 
—New York Herald, June 3, 1854, editorial. 



PROTOCOL NO. 1. 

Wednesday, February 8, 1854. 

The undersigned met this day at 12 noon in the house of the Commis- 
sioner of the United States. 

Mr. Wyllie submitted the written commands of the King to him of the 
6th instant, also the letter of same date from the Hon. Wm. L. Lee, 
Chancellor of the Kingdom, and Mr. Gregg to exchange powers with 
him, with a view to the objects expressed in the King's command afore- 
said. 

Mr. Wyllie further submitted to Mr. Gregg the appeal to the Presi- 
dent of the United States of March 31, 1851, signed by him and the late 
Commissioner, Mr. Severance. 

Mr. Gregg stated to Mr. Wyllie that he was in possession of no formal 
powers to negotiate or declare the views of the Government of the Unit- 



32 

ed States upon the matters submitted for his consideration, — that from 
the peculiar circumstances of the case, it was impossible for the Govern- 
ment of the United States to anticipate the necessity of special replies 
to such questions or the existence of a state of affairs, making it desir- 
able on the part of the King to bring- up for discussion with him (Mr. 
Gregg) a subject of such magnitude and interest to both nations, with- 
out an opportunity of referring to the authorities at Washington, which 
he trusted could readily be done without prejudice. But if the exigen- 
cies of the present or future should demand it, he was willing to nego- 
tiate ad referendum, on the subject embraced in the commands of the 
King, but not otherwise. 

Mr. Gregg further stated that having been verbally informed yester- 
day by Mr. Wyllie of this matter, he had written to the State Depart- 
ment at Washington relative thereto with the expectation of obtaining 
the views and instructions of his government as early as might be prac- 
ticable. Mr. Wyllie begged Mr. Gregg to send a duplicate of his letter and 
to enclose a copy of the commands of the King, that the President might 
understand exactly what His Majesty desired, for which purpose he left 
a certified copy with Mr. Gregg. Mr. Wyllie also left with Mr. Gregg 
the appeal of 31st, March, 1851, before alluded to for Mr. Gregg's fuller 
information. 

The undersigned, on behalf of their respective Governments, agreed 
to consider the Protocol as the initiation of a negotiation with the Gov- 
ernment of the United States for the. purposes expressed in the King's 
commands to his Minister of Foreign Affairs. 

The undersigned agreed to adjourn till they should have occasion to 
meet again. 

R. C. WYLLIE, 
D. L. GREGG. 



PROTOCOL NO. 2. 

Saturday, February 11, 1854. 1:30 p. m. 

The undersigned met in the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States. 

Mr. Wyllie stated that he had, by the advice of Prince Liholiho and 
the Cabinet, to add to the King's orders of the 6th inst. the signatures 
of His Majesty's Chief Justice and of his Ministers approving thereof. 



33 

Mr. Gregg with reference to what he said in Protocol No. 1, stated 
that in view of his declaration therein contained, and the matters con- 
tained in the preamble to the King's commands to Mr. Wyllie, bearing 
dat« on the 6th inst., he felt himself justified in declaring explicitly that 
if it was the wish of His Majesty's Government, to negotiate ad referen- 
dum, he was willing to enter upon such negotiation at any time that 
might be agreed on, for that purpose. 

He also said that although he had no formal powers to that effect, yet 
from his knowledge of the views and policy of his government, derived 
from the highest sources, he considered himself warranted under the 
state of facts expressed in said preamble, and by the exigency of the 
case, to discuss for reference, the terms of an arrangement between the 
two powers of the character indicated in such commands. Mr. Gregg 
further remarked to Mr. Wyllie that after careful consideration, he had 
deemed it advisable to make this specific declaration, in order that no 
wrong impression might exist as to the nature of the authority with 
which he regarded himself invested on the part of his government, to 
act ad referendum, in regard to the exigencies contemplated in His Maj- 
esty's commands to Mr. Wyllie. 

/ a . - (R. C. WYLLIE, 

( Sl £ ned ) D. L. GREGG. 



ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS. 

Honolulu, February 21, 1854. 

3ir: — We have examined the protocols numbers 1 and 2, executed by 
Our Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Commissioner of the United 
States, initiated by Our Minister, in pursuance of Our commands of the 
sixth of February; and more fully to carry out the purposes and inten- 
tions thereof, We hereby give you the following instructions additional 

You will immediately enter upon a negotiation with the Commissioner 
of the United States of a treaty ad referendum, the object of which is 
the annexation of Our Kingdom to the United States of America, in 
case of necessity, and which will fully secure Our rights, and the rights of 
Our chiefs and people, being assured, by the protocol No. 2, submitted 
to Us, of the willingness of the Commissioner of the United States to 
enter upon such negotiation. The Constitution of Our Kingdom has 
made Our Ministers special advisers in the executive affairs of the 
Kingdom, and therefore you will submit to their consideration every 



34 

proposal and every proposition which may be interchanged between 
you and the Commissioner of the United States, and your conduct will 
be governed by their decision. 

Prince Liholiho will join in the deliberations of the Cabinet Council, 
vote therein, and make its views known to me. 

When the treaty ad referendum as aforesaid is completed, you will 
submit the same to Us, which will be subject to Our approval, modifica- 
tion or rejection, and in case We shall deem it wise and necessary to 
submit it to the representatives of Our people, subject also to their ap- 
proval. 

(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA. 

Approved by Liholiho, W. L. Lee, and the Cabinet. 



PROTOCOL NO. 3. 

Thursday, March 23, 1854, 2 p. m. 
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States, and after comparing the two originals of protocol No. 2, of the 
date of February 11, 1854, which since that time had been in the hands 
of His Majesty the King for consideration and approval, respectively, 
signed and exchanged the same. 

Mr. Wyllie at the same time communicated to Mr. Gregg the further 
orders of the King to him (Mr. Wyllie), bearing date on the 21st day 
February last, but signed by His Majesty yesterday, and countersigned 
by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness, the Kuhina 
Nui, the Chief-Justice and by His Majesty's Ministers of State. 

Mr. Gregg, having heard the same, expressed a wish to have a copy 
thereof for transmission to His government on account of the close rela- 
tion of such instructions to the Royal commands of the 6th of February 
last, a copy of which he had already transmitted. 

The undersigned then adjourned to meet again as occasion might 

require. 

, a . ,* j D. L. GREGG, 

( Sl S ned ) \ R. C. WYLLIE. 



35 

PROTOCOL NO. 4. 

Saturday, March 25, 1854, 10 a. m. 
The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States, and after comparing- the originals of protocol No. 3, respectively, 
signed and exchanged the same. 

Mr. Wyllie, in accordance with Mr. Gregg's request as expressed in 
protocol No. 3, produced the King's additional orders of the 22nd of 
February last, of which a copy was taken for Mr. Gregg's use, and duly 
verified by comparison with the original. 

Mr. Wyllie then read the following brief memorandum, submitted to 
him yesterday by Mr. Gregg, for consideration, viz: 

u l. The cession of the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Islands to the 
United States. 

u 2. The most ample guarantee of all the chiefs and people, securing 
to them the footing of citizens of the United States, on terms of perfect 
equality with all other American citizens. 

"3. As a consideration in part, for such cession, a suitable provision 
for the King, the Queen, the Crown Prince, those declared next in suc- 
cession, the chiefs, &c. 

"4. A provision for the support of schools and education. 

" 5. A provision for the fulfilment of all engagements lawfully incum- 
bent upon the King's government to fulfil or discharge." 

Mr. Gregg said he had submitted the preceding brief memorandum 
for Mr. Wyllie's consideration, in order to elicit his views on the sub- 
ject, and as a yery general basis of the discussions between them, which 
must necessarily arise in providing for the objects expressed in the 
King's commands of the 6th and 21st of February last. 

Mr. Wyllie then presented and read a memorandum, which he pro- 
posed as a basis for negotiation, in the following terms: 

" 1. The admission of the Hawaiian Islands as a Sovereign State into 
the American Union, subject to the Federal Government, the same as 
the state of Massachusetts, and extending to the King and chiefs and 
all His subjects, the same rights, civil, political and religious, as are en- 
joyed by that state. 

" 2. A due provision to be made for the King, the Queen, the pro- 
claimed heir to the throne, those declared next in succession by the 
King's will, the High Chiefs enjoying salaries, all the salaried officers 



36 

of the King- with some regard to the length of service; and for the exer- 
cise of the King's bounty in those cases where he may wish to exercise it. 

" 3. All rights of possession, inheritance or expectancy to be respected 
and provided for. 

u 4. All engagements of whatever kind, lawfully incumbent upon the 
King or the nation to discharge, to be religiously fulfilled. 

" 5. The existing Constitution to be maintained, subject only to those 
alterations, without which the Islands could not be admitted as a Sove- 
reign State into the Union." 



PROTOCOL NO. 5. 

Friday, April 21st, 1854, 9 a. m. 
The undersigned met in the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States, and signed protocol No. 4. 

Mr. Wyllie submitted the following bases of arrangement which had 
been framed by the King's Chief Justice, and had been approved of by 
the Princes of the Blood, the Kuhina Nui, and the members of the 
King's Cabinet, viz: 

" 1. The admission of the Hawaiian Islands into the American Union, 
as a Sovereign State, subject to the Federal Government, the same as 
any other state of the Union. 

"2. The most ample guarantee of all the rights of the King, the chiefs, 
and the people, whether civil, political or religious, and securing to 
them all the privileges of citizens of the United States, on terms of per- 
fect equality with other American citizens. 

"3. A suitable provision to be made for the King, the Queen, the 
proclaimed heir to the Throne, those declared next in succession by the 
King's will, the chiefs and all other persons for whom provision should 
be made. 

"4. A provision for the faithful fulfilment of all engagements of 
whatsoever kind lawfully incumbent upon the King's Government or the 
Hawaiian nation to discharge. 

" 5. A provision for the support of schools and education." 

Mr. Wyllie stated that the members of the King's Cabinet on the 29th 



37 

of March had agreed to refer the amount of compensation to be deter- 
mined by a select committee composed of the two Princes of the Bloody 
the Kuhina Nui, and the King's Chancellor and Chief-Justice, the Hon. 
W. L. Lee, who had reported yesterday as follows: 

"The undersigned, a committee appointed to fix upon the amounts to 
be asked for compensation to the King and Chiefs, under the new Treaty 
contemplated with the United States, beg to report: 

That they have found great difficulty in every attempt they have 
made to find a just compensation for the several chiefs who, including 
the second class, number upwards of thirty persons; and therefore they 
would respectfully recommend that a gross sum, — say three hundred 
thousand dollars, be asked for, to be distributed among the King and 
chiefs, in the form of annuities, as they may determine, it being express- 
ly understood that from the above sum of three hundred thousand dol- 
lars, no deduction whatever shall be made on the plea of any claim or 
claims alleged against the Hawaiian Government or authorities by any 
American citizen, or on any other pretence whatever. 

Signed by Liholiho, Lot Kamehameha, Keoni Ana, and W. L. Lee. 

Mr. Gregg remarked to Mr. Wyllie that so far as the basis of arrange- 
ment just submitted was concerned, he had then no objection to inter- 
pose, unless it might be to the first clause, which he thought was capable 
of a construction inconsistent with the constitution of the United States 
(Article 4, Section III). But if, as he supposed probable, its intention 
was simply to provide for the admission of the Hawaiian Islands into the 
American Union as a State, as soon as might be consistent with the 
principles of the American constitution, it was free from the difficulty 
suggested. For the purpose, however, of removing all cause of doubt, 
he would propose a substitute for such clause, the following: 

" The incorporation of the Hawaiian Islands into the American Union, 
and their admission as soon as may be consistent with the principles of 
the Federal Constitution to all the rights, privileges and immunities 
of a Sovereign State, the same as any other State of the Union." 

, Mr. Gregg further remarked that although the amount fixed by the 
committee as a compensation was considerably higher than he had an- 
ticipated, and more, he feared than would be regarded reasonable by 
his government, yet he would for the present assent to it, as a basis for 
the formation of a treaty ad referendum reserving to himself the right, 
however, of submitting a counter proposition, if he should deem it in- 
cumbent upon him so to do, at any time before the final arrangement of 
such treaty. 



38 

For the purpose of enabling him to form a satisfactory opinion on this 
subject of compensation, he begged Mr. Wyllie to cause him to be in- 
formed, as to the names and ages of the parties to whom annuities were 
proposed to be paid, the quantity and character of the public land, and 
other public property, the resources and capacities of the Islands, etc., 
etc. The undersigned adjourned to meet as occasion might require. 

/ Q ,.„ A \ (R. C. WYLLIE, 

(Signed) 1 D. L. GREGG. 



PROTOCOL NO. 6. 

The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States, at 2 P. M., on the 1st of June. The undersigned compared the 
two originals of Protocol No. 5, but agreed not to sign it, till the 
King's pleasure thereon be made known to them. 

Mr. Gregg stated that since the date of Protocol No. 5, he had been 
advised of the views of his government in regard to the King's orders of 
the 6th of February last, and had received full powers, which he now 
produced in exchange for those previously presented by Mr. Wyllie. 

The undersigned proceeded to verify and compare their respective 
powers, and exchange the same. Mr. Gregg stated to Mr. Wyllie that 
under the power now conferred upon him, be was ready to proceed 
immediately to the discussion of the measure contemplated alike in the 
powers held by him, and in the powers held by Mr. Wyllie, and to con- 
clude the same in conformity with the wish of the two high contracting 
parties. 

Mr. Wyllie replied that as soon as he could obtain the data requested 
by Mr. Gregg in Protocol No. 5, he would be prepared to enter upon 
the negotiation; and with a view to save time, suggested that Mr. Gregg 
should draft the outline of a treaty, leaving blanks for the details, 
which were wanting, so as that Mr. Wyllie knowing Mr. Gregg's views, 
might carefully consider them with the assistance of his colleagues, of 
the Princes of the Blood, and of the King's Chief Justice, for submission 
to His Majesty the King, along with Protocol No. 5, to which his sanc- 
tion was still to be obtained. 

rSie-ned) i R ' C ' WYLLIE, 

(blgned) 1 D. L. GREGG. 



39 

PROTOCOL NO. 7. 

The undersigned met in the House of the Commissioner of the United 
States on Wednesday the 7th of June, at 1 P. M. 

The undersigned compared and exchanged Protocol No. 6, leaving it 
and Protocol No. 5, still unsigned, until after the approval of the King 
shall have been obtained. 

Mr. Wyllie stated that the King's Chief Justice, and the other minis- 
ters of the King, on the 2nd of June had concurred in the view that the 
powers of Mr. Gregg and of Mr. Wyllie, which they had exchanged on 
the 1st of June, were equal and sufficient for the formation of a Treaty 
ad referendum for the annexation of the Hawaiian Kingdom to the United 
States of America, agreeably to the King's instructions to Mr. Wyllie of 
the 21st of February, 1854, approved by the Crown Prince, by the 
Kuhina Nui, by the King's Chancellor and Chief Justice, and by all of 
His Majesty's Ministers on the 22nd of March 1854. 

With a view to enable Mr. Gregg to proceed in the preparation of the 
draft of such a treaty, so as that the transfer of Sovereignty may be 
beneficial to the King and all His subjects, and if possible, not prejudice 
the interests of any of such subjects, Mr. Wyllie with the full approval 
of the Kuhina Nui and of his colleagues, delivered to Mr. Gregg, the 
following, viz: — 

No. 1. Civil List $ 32,900 00 

" 2. List District Justices 9,550 00 

" 3. " Circuit Judges 4,800 00 

" 4. " Clerks of Governors 1,200 00 

" 5. " Tax Collectors . . , 7,000 00 

Total $ 55,450 00 

Also No. 6. a statement of Government houses, ports, lands, ponds, 
-&c, transferable with the Sovereignty of the Islands, amounting to 
$1,522,379. 

No. 7. Claims on France $ 462,372 73 

" 8. " " Great Britian 32,107 61 

Total of Nos. 6, 7 & 8 $2,016,853 34 

Mr. Wyllie begged Mr. Gregg to understand distinctly that he could 
neither make himself nor the Hawaiian Government responsible for the 
correctness of the items forming the above sum of $2,016,853.34. 

Mr. Wyllie further delivered to Mr. Gregg No. 9, being a list of an- 



40 

nuities payable by this Government, amounting to $2,040.00 per annum; 
and stated that he had still to receive and deliver to Mr. Gregg a list 
of natives employed in the Department of Public Instruction, who would 
lose the amounts of their respective salaries under a surrender of the 
Native Sovereignty. To save time Mr. Wyllie delivered all these docu- 
ments in the original, requesting Mr. Gregg to return them after mak- 
ing the use of them intended in Protocol No. 6. 



PROTOCOL NO. 8. 

The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States on Thursday the 17th day of August, 1854. 

Mr. Wyllie begged to make known to Mr. Gregg the following agenda, 
founded on instructions from his colleagues and the Crown Prince, viz: — 

1. That a treaty should be forthwith concluded according to diplo- 
matic usage, and submitted to the King. 

2. That the second article of Mr. Wyllie's draft of a treaty should 
be adopted with the addition of the following words, viz: — "but the 
King of the Hawaiian Islands reserves to himself the power to ratify it, 
in any moment of danger." Such article also to express in clear and 
specific terms, the admission of said islands, as a Sovereign State, in the 
usual sense of State Sovereignty. 

3. The payment of seventy-five thousand dollars per annum, for a 
period of ten years, for the benefit of schools, one third of which to be 
capitalized, and the interest annually applied to the support of a College 
or University, and fifty thousand dollars appropriated to the use of Com- 
mon Schools, in the discretion of the Legislative authority of the Ha- 
waiian Islands, when admitted into the Union as a State. 

4. The substitution in Article VIII. of the words "and all others 
whom the King may wish to compensate or reward," in place of the 
words — "and other persons now in the service of the Hawaiian Govern- 
ment, or formerly in such service." 

Mr. Gregg thereupon stated that he would take into consideration 
the different points contained in such agenda, and submit his remarks 



*1 

arid conclusion thereon, with the least possible delay. The undersigned 

then adjourned to meet as occasion might require. 

■ i . /C3 . ,x j R. C. WYLLIE, 

(Signed) D.L.GREGG. 



PROTOCOL NO. 9. 

The undersigned met at the house of the Commissioner of the United 
States, on the 18th of August, 1854, at 9 A. M. 

Mr f Gregg read a memorandum on Mr. Wyllie's agenda, which he 
had submitted to Mr. Wyllie yesterday afternoon, as follows, viz.: 

^Mr. Gregg has carefully considered the Agenda submitted to him^ 
by Mr. Wyllie, this day, as expressing the views of the Hawaiian Cabi- 
net and of the Crown Prince upon the drafts of a treaty of annexation 
under consideration. Prom conversations with Mr. Wyllie and other 
members of the Cabinet, he fully understands and appreciates the object 
proposed to be accomplished by the addition of the following words, 
viz: — but the King of the Hawaiian Islands reserves to himself the 
power to ratify it, in any moment of danger." There are grave anal 
serious objections, as he believes, not only to the article as originally 
drawn up, but to the vagueness and indefiniteness of the additional 
clause. In regard to the former he has already taken occasion to indi- 
cate to Mr. Wyllie his views. He is convinced that the President and 
Senate of the United States would regard it as so objectionable that any 
treaty containing it would be rejected on that account, and he cannot, 
therefore, assent to it. He suggests that the object pointed at in the 
clause proposed to be added, could be better reached by the Protocols of 
the negotiation, or by a Separate and perhaps Secret article, and he 
submits to Mr. Wyllie a proposition to that effect, and also a modifica- 
tion of said article No. II., as follows, viz: — 

" The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorporated into the 
American Union as soon as in the judgment of Congress, it can be done, 
in consistency with the principles and requirements of the Federal Con- 
stitution, with all the rights, privileges and Sovereignty of a state, the 
same as, and on terms of perfect equality with the other states of the 
United States." To this part of Mr. Gregg's memorandum, Mr. Wyllie 
replied that no disrespect or distrust whatever was intended to apply to 
the United States in the words which his Colleagues and the Crown 
Prince had agreed should be added to the second Article of his draft of 



42 

the treaty; the intention was to provide instantly and effectually for the 
sudden danger contemplated in the preamble; he admitted that that 
great object could be as well or better effected by a Separate and Secret 
article; but he added that his instructions having been precise as to the 
addition of these ipissima verba, he could not take upon himself to make 
any change without a further reference to his colleagues and to the 
Crown Prince. 

Mr. Gregg then continued his memorandum as follows, viz: — 

Mr. Gregg has no hesitation in assenting to the substitution in Article 
VIII., of the words u and all others whom the King may wish to com- 
pensate or reward," in place of the words — "and other persons now in 
the service of the Hawaiian Government, or formerly in such service." 
In order to approach more nearly to the views of Mr. Wyllie, the Cabi- 
net and the Crown Prince, he (Mr. Gregg) is willing to modify the lat- 
ter part of said article so as to make it read as follows: 

As a further consideration for the Cession herein made, and in order 
to place within the reach of the inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands the 
means of education, present and future, so as to enable them the more 
perfectly to enjoy and discharge the rights and duties consequent upon 
a change from Monarchical to Republican institutions, the United 
States agree to set apart and pay over the sum of seventy-five thousand 
thousand dollars, per annum, one third of which shall be applied to con- 
stitute the principal of a fund for the benefit of a College or University, 
or colleges and universities, as the case may be, and the balance for the 
support of common schools to be invested, secured or applied as may be 
determined by the Legislative Authority of the Hawaiian Islands, when 
admitted into the Union as aforesaid." 

Mr. Gregg thinks the term of Uve years ample to secure an adequate 
provision for schools, especially in connexion with the appropriation of 
lands to a similar object. 

But few states are as well provided for in this respect. He cannot 
recognize the propriety of limiting the proceeds of the college or univer- 
sity fund to a single institution, but he is willing to leave their appro- 
priation open to legislative discretion. So far as other questions were 
concerned, Mr. Wyllie was in possession of his views already, and he 
did not deem it necessary to enter upon their discussion, at present. 
Aug. 17th, 1854. 

The undersigned then adjourned to meet again when Mr. Wyllie had 
consulted his colleagues and the Crown Prince in regard to the fore- 
going views of Mr. Gregg. 

(Signed) \ R ' C « WYLLIE, 

iblgneaj } D. L. GREGG. 



43 

PROTOCOL NO. 10. 

The undersigned resumed their meeting at the house of the Commis- 
sioner of the United States, on the 18th of August, 1854, at 4 P.M. 

Mr. Wyllie stated that having conferred with his colleagues on the 
subject of Mr. Gregg's observations in Protocol No. 9, he had to make 
known their views as follows, viz.: 

1. That the amount of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for 
schools must be for ten instead of live years. 

2. That his colleagues and the Prince decline to admit Mr. Gregg's 
proposed substitute for Mr. Wyllie's recent article, and propose the fol- 
lowing amendment to stand in its place, viz.: 

"The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall be incorporated into 
the American Union, as a Sovereign State, and admitted as such as 
soon as it can be done in consistency with the principles and require- 
ments of the Federal Constitution to all the rights, privileges and im- 
munities of a State, as aforesaid, and perfect equality with the other 
States of the Confederation." 

Mr. Gregg expressed dissatisfaction with the phraseology of the pro- 
posed amendment, but promised to take the subject into early consider- 
ation, and to advise Mr. Wyllie fully of his views thereon. Mr. Wyllie 
then stated that Protocols Nos. 5, 6 and 7 had been submitted to the 
King; and they were therefore signed in accordance with Protocol No. 
6. The undersigned therefore adjourned to meet again as soon as Mr. 
Gregg has maturely considered the amendment proposed to the second 
article. 

(signed) (B-o/jan™ 



. D. L. GREGG. 
Honolulu, 27 September, 1854. 



PROTOCOL NO. 11. 

The undersigned met at the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
at 10 A.M. on August 19, 1854, and proceeded to settle the, terms of the 
Treaty of Annexation referred to and discussed at their preceding con- 
ferences. R . , . 

Mr. Gregg expressed himself still dissatisfied with the terms of the 
amendment submitted to him yesterday, as the agreement of the Cab- 



44 

ihet and Crown Prince, for the second article of the treaty. He did not 
object to the omission of the words " in the judgment of Congress,* 1 as 
contained in his original draft and the one Mr. Wyllie proposed, as it 
was well understood and agreed by all the parties to the negotiation 
that the power of admitting new States into the Union is vested by the 
Constitution solely in the Congress, and it was not intended to attach 
to the article any other sense. He thought the expression " Sovereign 
State" inaccurate and exceptional. The States were, it is true, sovereign 
in a limited sense; they had full jurisdiction and control over their own 
local and domestic affairs. But the National Sovereignty was vested in 
the general government alone, and he thought it improper to designate 
a state, in a public treaty, by terms not strictly applicable in the sense 
of the Federal Constitution. 

He also objected to the word "Confederation, 1 '' as being, at least, of 
doubtful propriety, and proposed " Union" as a substitute. The follow- 
ing was finally agreed upon and adopted, as being within the meaning 
of and subordinate to Section III of Article IV. of the Constitution of 
the United States, viz.: "The Kingdom of the Hawaiian Islands shall 
be incorporated into the American Union as a State, enjoying the same 
degree of sovereignty as other States; and admitted as such, as soon as 
it can be done, in consistency with the principles and requirements of 
the Federal Constitution, to all the rights, privileges and immunities of 
a State, as aforesaid, with the other States of the Union." 

When Article VIII. came up for consideration, Mr. Gregg renewed 
the proposal heretofore made by him to insert $100,000 instead of $300,000 
as a suitable amount to be paid in annuities. Mr. Wyllie stated in reply, 
that the revenue of the Kingdom was in rapid augmentation; from 
$48,842 in 1843, it had increased in only eight years to $315,735 in 1851; 
that in 1853, notwithstanding the fearful ravages of the small pox, it 
was $326,620; that this increase had taken place without any develop- 
ment of the agricultural resources of the country, worthy of the name; 
that only capital and labor were wanted to develope them to a great 
extent, whereby the revenue would be proportionally increased, and 
that he (Mr. Wyllie) saw no reason to doubt that in ten years from this 
date the revenue of the Islands would exceed $1,000,000 annually. Mr. 
Wyllie added that for this reason he did not consider $300,000 an extra- 
vagant demand for compensation considering the present and prospec- 
tive value of the Islands intrinsically, and much less in view of their po- 
litical value to any great naval and commercial power, since the treaty 
effected with Japan. Mr. Wyllie added his belief that this value was 
fully understood, and that a higher compensation' for thirty years, 



45 

might be procured by a surrender of the sovereignty to another great 
nation. Besides the $300,000 had been fully agreed upon by the King's 
Cabinet, and the Crown Prince, and further $75,000 for the purpose of 
education, to be continued for ten years; and he (Mr. Wyllie) did not 
think they would recede from these terms. 

Mr. Gregg said that as the negotiation was ad referendum , he felt him- 
self under the peculiar circumstances of the case, authorized to assent, 
although he did it with reluctance — to the insertion of the sums proposed 
by Mr. Wyllie leaving his government to consider and determine 
whether they were responsible and proper or not. The same consider- 
ation would lead him to agree to the time fixed by the Cabinet and 
Crown Prince, for the continuance of the payment of schools, etc. But 
he objected to the phraseology of the first paragraph of this Article 
VIII., which he thought did not express clearly and definitely enough 
the idea which was in the mind of all parties, viz., that the aggregate 
amount of Annuities should be apportioned once for all, by the King 
and Privy Council, and to remain apportioned for ever — each annuity 
falling off on the death of the party entitled to it, and the aggregate 
sum being diminished to the extent of such annuity or as each life falls in. 
Any other construction would be different from that intended and lead 
to misunderstanding and difficulties which should be clearly provided 
against. 

Mr. Wyllie stated that it undoubtedly was the understanding that the 
Annuities were to be strictly Life Annuities, terminable with the life of 
each annuitant, although he himself would have preferred that the an- 
nuities should have been for a given period of time, so as that in the 
probable case of the early death of any annuitant, the benefit of his or 
her annuity might go to his or her children, or other heirs, for the 
years or period of time that the annuity might still have to run. But 
as his colleagues and the Crown Prince had waived the point, Mr. Wyl- 
lie had yielded to the general sense that the annuities were to be life 
annuities only, with the sole exception of that of the Immediate Heir to 
the throne which is specially provided for. 

v ,The Article was finally, after some amendment, assented to by Mr. 
Gregg. 

The draft of a treaty having been completed to the mutual satisfaction 
of the undersigned, it was agreed that three copies should be made in 
English and three in Hawaiian, and that the same should be signed, and 
sealed, as soon as convenient in the presence of the Crown Prince and 
members of the Cabinet, and if possible, with the approval of the Chief 



46 

Justice. The said treaty having been negotiated and drawn up, in the 
English language, it was understood and agreed that all disputes aris- 
ing under it should be decided by the English text. The undersigned 
further agreed that a Separate and Secret Article should be framed 
and added to the treaty, providing effectually for the prevention of 
anarchy and the preservation of peace and order, in case the emergency 
contemplated in the Preamble should suddenly occur, without which 
the treaty itself would fail in one of its main objects. 

,«i ' M JR. C. WYLLIE, 

( bl £ ned ) j D.L.GREGG. 

Honolulu, 27 of September, 1954. 



PROTOCOL NO. 12. 

The undersigned met in the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs 
at 2 P. M. on Monday, Sept. 4th. 

The undesrsigned compared their respective copies of the treaty, 
which they had agreed to, subject to the King's approval, on the 19th 
of August. 

Immediately afterwards they discussed and agreed to the Separate and 
Secret Article, provided for in Protocol No. 11, and added the same to 
the said copies of the treaty. 

Whereupon the undersigned agreed that the Treaty was completed, 
for submission to the King, in conformity with his Majesty's instruc- 
tions to Mr. Wyllie, of the 21st of Feb. 1854, and they adjourned, to 
meet again as occasion may require. 

■,,„. ,., JR. C. WYLLIE, 

(Signed) j D. L. GREGG. 

Honolulu, September 27, 1854. 



47 

From Appendix to Protocol 7, containing Civil List, as follows: 

The King- ....'$ 10,000 00 

The Queen , ..... ....>,........ . .« 1,000 00 

H. R. H. Liholiho....:.. 2,000 00 

Prince Lot Kamehameha 800 00 

C. Kanaina .". 800 00 

K. Kapaakea 800 00 

B. Namakeha . . 800 00 

I. Kaeo 800 00 

A. Paki, Chamberlain 1,000 00 

John Young-, Minister of Interior 4,000 00 

M. Kekuanaoa, Governor of Oahu 2,500 00 

P. NahaoleVua, " ' ;" " Maui 1,500 00 

G. L. Kapeau, " u Hawaii 1 ,200 00 

P. Kanoa, " " Kauai. .. 1,200 00 

John Ii, 2nd Associate Justice Supreme Court 2,000 00 

I. Kekaulahao, 2nd Secretary Land Commission 1,500 00 

I. Piikoi, Clerk Honolulu Market 1,000 00 

$ 32,900 00 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



The following 1 paragraphs are selected from a private correspondence 
filed by Mr. Wyllie in the archives of the Foreign Office. 

LETTER FROM WYLLIE TO CHIEF JUSTICE LEE OF MARCH 

8th, 1854. 

"At the last Privy Council on the 6th, I announced the fact that the 
Consul-General Miller and Mr. Perrin had received by last mail de- 
spatches from their respective governments, fully approving of their 
joint address of the 1st of September, stating that each government had 
written to the United States Government on the subject, inviting the 
latter to join Great Britain and France in a Tripartite Treaty to sup- 
port the independence and neutrality of this Kingdom, and ordering 
the Consul-General and Mr. Perrin to act in concert." 

Mr. Wyllie then speaks of an alleged conspiracy of Government clerks 
in the Legislature to oust him from office, of which C. C. Harris was 
said to be the leader. He adds: 

" 1 think a feeling is being industriously propagated that I am the 
only bar to annexation . Upon that point, I believe my opinion and sense 
of duty, agree fully with your own, and as far as I can judge, Prince 
Liholiho and all my colleagues agree with us."— Extract. 

WYLLIE TO LEE, JUNE 23rd, 1854. 

" The treaty is now before Liholiho, with all the amendments sug- 
gested by you. To be able to save the King and chiefs and people at a 
moment's warning, it is desirable that the treaty should be concluded 
diplomatically, — I mean, signed by the Plenipotentiaries, but subject to 
future ratification. Armstrong's zeal presses the latter with indiscreet 
haste; and, I fear, makes everything known to J. and B. Armstrong's 
grand idea is that you and I should go to Washington with the treaty 
ratified here, to have it ratified there. It would, no doubt, be very con- 
venient to some people so to get rid both of you, me and of Allen, too, — 
but the question is would the King's honor and the rights of the natives 
be as safe in other hands, or when a treaty is made as a safeguard 
against sudden treason or rebellion, is there any place so proper for the 



49 

King's ratification as his own Court, where the danger would first be 
felt, or any form more proper or decorous than that the Act of Ratifica- 
tion should be witnessed and signed by all who have the Powers and 
Protocols from the first, by the King's own desire. To my mind the 
treaty admits of no dispute whatever, but I should like to know yours." 

LEE TO WYLLtE, JULY 5TH, 1854. 

" The treaty should be concluded at once, so that we may be prepared 
for emergencies, but I agree with you about the final ratification."— Pri* 
vate. \i f . •.!■■ 

WYLLIE TO LEE, JULY 11TH, 1854. 

"Liholiho keeps out of the way, and has not returned the treaties, 
though I have often asked for them. Of my draft, I have no copy. Un- 
less I perform the duty which on the 6th of February was imposed on 
me imperatively, if any sudden emergency were to occur, I would be 
subject to blame. Therefore, one or two things, either I must perform 
that duty or the Royal order must be withdrawn. The final ratification 
is quite another matter. That I would be as unwilling to press on the 
King except in presence of an immediate emergency, as you would be. 

"Under such a clear necessity, colonial subjection to any European Power, 
would not be as favorable to the interests of the Islands, as their admission 
as a Sovereign State of the United States. There are no markets in 
Europe likely to afford such a consumpfion of Island produce at high 
prices, as those of California and Oregon. 

"Besides, contiguity, and the superior magnitude of, present interests 
in the Islands are considerations not to be overlooked. This view of 
mine I made known to the Consul-General, fully and frankly, in 1851 or 
1353. In judging of such abstract questions, I know of no nationality 
whatever. Under & pressing necessity, I would advise the King to annex 
himself and his kingdom to Japan, if I thought that it would be best for 
him, the Prince, the chiefs, the Hawaiians generally, and the future in- 
terests of the Islands, as an agricultural and mercantile state. 

" But to the treasonable creation of a necessity for the extinction of the 
native sovereignty, I never will be- a party. As the House of Represent- 
atives is going on, it appears to me that they will bring on the necessity 
soon enough, although all we Ministers remain faithful to our oaths, up 
to the very moment of its supervention. 

" Such are my views, and from what I can recollect of our confidential 
conference at Rosebank in January last, I think you will not be far diff- 



50 

erent. Hoping soon to hear that you are better or to see you here, 
"I remain, My dear Lee, 

"Yours truly, 

U R. C. WYLLiE." 

" P. S. Before the 6th of February last, my idea of saving 1 the King 
from sudden treason and rebellion was always to hoist the united flags 
of the United States, Great Britain and France. But our dangers are 
internal, and a Tripartite Treaty would fail to keep the King perma- 
nently on His Throne, unless each of the Powers were to consent to 
keep up a permanent garrison of say 100 men, in all 300." — Extract. 

WYLLIE TO LEE, AUG. 23d, 1854. 

"My Dear Lee: — * * * I am anxious to have your approval 
before I sign. Reflecting upon the matter, it is a most deplorable thing 
that we should be driven to give up, at the time when our means of 
governing independently and that well too, are so much greater than 
they were in 1843. • "" ■ 

" Our Revenue being increased from $18,842 yearly to $326,620. 

" Our Constitution, our laws and our land tenure are vastly improved, 
since you have been the King's Chief Justice, the administration of Jus- 
tice compares favorably with that of California or any of the South 
Western States, education is more generally diffused that it is in many 
old nations of great civilization, are fully acknowledged by the Great 
Powers of the earth. 

" Yet all these advantages and ameliorations go for nothing against 
the secret machinations and agitation of wretches whose loyalty, whose 
conscience and whose religion are at the bottom of their pockets, insti- 
gated by some half dt>zen Traitors that one month of a strong energetic 
Government would clear the country of forever. Yet looking to the 
King's safety, and the absence of all physical force to insure it, we have 
yet to take things as they are, not as they ought to be." 

LEE TO WYLLIE. 

" Torbertville, August 29, 1854. 

" My dear Wyllie: — Mr. Ii has just touched here on his way to 
Hilo leaving me your notes of August 20th and 23rd, with a copy of the 
treaty. You wish before signing to have my views of the treaty, and I 
will give them to you, though I have very little time for reflection. 
They are briefly as follows: 



" I see no objection to the treaty except the Second Article, which 
strikes me as being 1 indefinite, ambiguous and to a certain extent, con- 
tradictory. This article is intended to secure a very important point, 
the most important in my opinion involved in the whole treaty, and as 
it is now framed, it seems to me to dodge the question, or at least to 
leave room for future controversy. It is the wish of the King and chiefs, 
so far as they have spoken on the subject, to be admitted as a State, and 
not as a Territory, and they must not deceived by any uncertainty of 
expression in the treaty. They wish by this article to shield the" nation 
from slavery, and it would be as dishonorable to us as unjust to them, 
to leave so vital a question involved in doubt. I may not rightly under- 
stand this article, but as I read it, it is left to the American Congress to 
say when we may be admitted as a State, and that may be one, ten or 
twenty years hence. Much as I am in favor of a treaty of this kind, yet 
knowing as I do, the views of the King, chiefs and people on this sub- 
ject, it would be treacherous and criminal in me to let this point pass 
unnoticed. In my opinion the article should read that the Hawaiian 
Islands shall be incorporated into the American Union, not as a Territory, 
but as a State, etc., and omitting the clause 'and admitted as such as 
soon,' etc. The conditions and requirements precedent to our admission 
as a State, if any, should be distinctly specified. In my opinion, as the 
article now stands, it leaves room for any amount of delay and double 
dealing, and does not meet the wishes of the King and chiefs. 

"In what I have said I mean no reflection whatever on Mr. Gregg, 
who doubtless intended and understands this article in a sense fair and 
just to the Hawaiian nation, but it may be left to others, perhaps, less 
honorable than himself, to give it a construction. I cannot tell you how 
much I should regret throwing the slightest obstacle in the way of the 
conclusion of this treaty, but I should be false to my own conscience and 
to the nation I serve, to keep silence. The treaty has been greatly mo- 
dified since I saw it, and perhaps for the better in all respects, except 
the article above mentioned. I am sorry you did not send me a copy of 
it at an early date. I shall write to Liholiho, giving him authority to 
act as my proxy, and referring him to this letter for my views. I shall 
return to Honolulu in two .or three weeks, and if there is no pressing 
emergency, why not postpone the matter until I can make my views 
more fully known? Of course I write you this in confidence, but I wish 
you to show it to Mr. Allen, Mr. Armstrong, Liholiho and Mr. Young. 
I should not say 'in confidence,' if I had not heard from several sources 
that the doings of the Cabinet and Mr. Gregg in this matter were town 
talk." 



52 

FROM GREGG TO WYLLIE. 

" United States Legation, Sept. 12, 1854. 
" Sir:— It is now, as Your Excellency is aware, more than seven months 
since negotiations for the annexation of the Hawaiian Islands to the 
United States were commenced by the action of His Majesty's Govern- 
ment, the initiation thereof dating from the 8th of February last. 

" The King's written commission to Your Excellency, setting forth 
the reasons which impelled him to seek a connection with the United 
State bear date on the 6th of the same month. By his subsequent or- 
ders of the 21st of February, —expressly approved, as well as the com- 
mands of Feb. 6th by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the Cabi- 
net Ministers and the Chief Justice, the conclusion of a treaty of annex- 
ation was more explicitly directed. 

"Fully appreciating the causes which influenced His Majesty's deter- 
mination to seek for himself, his chiefs and his people, a refuge from 
impending dangers in the protecting power and beneficent institutions 
of the United States, I did not hesitate as the Representative of my 
Government, to respond to his-appeal by entering upon the negotiations 
which he desired. 

" After the occurrence of delays beyond precedent, which I am well 
assured had no origin in any disposition of Your Excellency, and to 
which I may safely claim, I have in no manner contributed, we at length, 
on the 19th ult., agreed upon the terms of a treaty not only mutually 
satisfactory to ourselves, but also satisfactory to His Royal Highness 
the Crown Prince, and to the members of His Majesty's Cabinet. 

" This being the case, I anticipated that procrastination was at an 
end, and hoped for a speedy conclusion of our negotiations by the signa- 
ture of such treaty, — the conditions of which we had formally arranged. 
That I had a right to indulge in such an expectation, is apparent from 
the tenor of the powers confided to Your Excellency, which so far as I 
have the honor to be advised, still remain in full force and effect. If it 
be otherwise^ then it is apparent that the result of our labors for the 
past seven months, will fall to the ground. 

," Duty to my own Government, as well as a sense of propriety, leads 
me to advise Your Excellency that I cannot consent to a continuation of 
the anomalous state of our negotiations. By every consideration arising 
from the principles which govern the intercourse of nations, I am autho- 
rized to insist upon the conclusion of such negotiations according to 
diplomatic usage. 



53 

"■ The alternative seems to me plain and imperative. This result must 
be consummated or I shall feel myself obliged to withdraw from any fur- 
ther negotiations, and to declare those which have already taken place,' 
at an end. r j 

"The position of the United States in relation thereto, is peculiar arid 
I may also add, in a high degree magnanimous My Government has 
never sought to acquire the sovereignty of the Hawaiian Archipelago. 
On all occasions, it has respected the rights of the King, and the in- 
terests of the Hawaiian chiefs and people, and looked with especial 
regard upon all that concerned their welfare and improvement. It wag 
only when His Hawaiian Majesty contemplating the dangers by which 
he was surrounded, appealed to its magnanimity for present protection 
and future security, that it consented to discuss the terms of a connec- 
between the two countries. It responded to his call from the considera- 
tion of sincere friendship to the Hawaiian race, as well as from the con- 
victions of interest and justice, which will never under any circumT 
stances whatever permit the dominions of His Majesty to become the 
mere appendage of any European power. 

"The friendship to which I refer, is of no brief duration. Its exist- 
ence dates from the period when Christianity first dawned upon the Isl- 
ands, and civilization, its handmaid, offered her advantages in place of 
the rude acquirements of the savage state. The United States gave 
their citizens as instructors; then commenced that feeling of sympathy 
which made Hawaiian interests dear to the people of my country. 

"It is not my province to refer Your Excellency to the danger which 
surround His Majesty's Government. With true wisdom he has seen 
and comprehended them in their full extent . With the sagacity which 
ought always to characterize the ruler^ he appreciates and seeks to 
guard against them. The Government of the United States responds 
to .his views, and offers the guaranty of its flag for protection, with the 
full assurance of liberty to his subjects, and perpetual security to their 
rights. jf 

"But that offer, extended upon his invitation, cannot always be con- 
tinued. There is a limit to courtesy as well as to forbearance. Generous 
designs must give place to paramount interests, and the time may come, 
when partiality to the Hawaiian people will, at length, have to yield to 
the necessities which demand the independence of the Hawaiian Isl- 
ands, — if their fate should not be identified with the American Union, — 
no matter what their dynasty or form of government may be. 

" It has never been the policy of the United States to interfere in the 



54 

domestic quarrels of other people. On the contrary, the right of self- 
government has always been recognized as pertaining to the subjects of 
every country. ! 

" If then, it should happen, — as I must reluctantly confess probabilities 
seem to indicate, — that the Hawaiian dynasty should fall by violence, I 
take occasion to disclaim on the part of my government all responsibility 
for its fate, though my sympathies and those of my countrymen will 
still continue to exist in all their original force and sincerity. The 
strong arm of the United States has been solicited for protection; — it 
has been extended and held out until at length self-respect must soon 
dictate its withdrawal. 

" I have deemed it incumbent upon me to submit these considerations 
for your reflection. They have been suggested by a sense of friendly 
interest as well as of propriety, and I may confidently appeal to Your 
Excellency to bear witness that in all my official action as the Represen- 
tative of my Government, I have never forgotten, while attending to its 
interests, to manifest a proper degree of respect for His Majesty and a 
desire to promote the best interests of His Kingdom and people." 

" With high considerations of respect, 

" I have the honor to be, 

" Your obedient servant, 

" DAVID L. GREGG. 
u To His Excellency 

" R. C. WYLLIE, 

" Minister of Foreign Relations," Etc., Etc. 

WYLLIE TO LEE. 

Honolulu, Sept. 13, 1854. 

"My Dear Lee: — Referring you to my previous letters upon the 
same subject, (that of the Treaty), in explanation of the course pursued 
by Prince Liholiho, I think it but fair to inform you that on the 29th 
ult., I received an order from the King, in native and English, in Libo- 
liho's handwriting, of which the following is a copy: — " 

" Our Palace of Honolulu, August 29, 1854. 

" Sir: — Referring you to my orders and instructions relating to the 
treaty with Mr. Gregg, hearing that it is nearly completed, I order you 
to send me a copy in native, and a copy of all the protocols in native, 



55 

that I may consider what amendments and suggestions I may have to 
make before you sign the treaty. 

"(Signed) KAMEHAMEHA III. 

"To His Excellency 

" R. C. Wyllie, 

u Minister of Foreign Belations.'''' 

The preceding order was delivered to me by Mr. Young, on the 31, 
August, on which day and again on the 1st September, it was considered 
by the Cabinet in connection with the following clause in the King's 
instructions to me of the 21st February last. 

" When the treaty ad referendum, as aforesaid, is. completed, you will 
submit the same to us, which be subject to our approval, modification, 
or rejection, and in case we shall deem it wise and necessary, to submit 
it to the representatives of our people, subject also to their approval. 

" KAMEHAMEHA III." 

Also with your letter to me of 6th February, 1854, which instructs me as 
follows: — 

"Liholiho and Mr. Young desired me to say to you that the King 
wished you to submit all communications you may have with Mr. Gregg 
on this subject, to him for his approval." 

In view of all these perfectly consistent documents, it was my opin- 
ion that the view taken by the Cabinet on tht 18th August that I should 
present the treaty to the King signed by myself and Mr. Gregg, was 
wrong, although Liholiho was present and consented to it. 

Just as the Cabinet was breaking up on that day, I stated that not- 
withstanding what had been resolved, I should send a copy of the treaty 
to you for your approval or objections before laying it before the King. 
Liholiho heard what I said; and it is more charitable to suppose that in 
moving the King to send me the order of the 29th August, his object 
was to gain time to know your opinion than to suppose (as has been sup- 
posed by Armstrong, Young, Gregg and others), that his object was to 
quash the whole negotiation. 

In saying so much for the Prince, I will say this for myself that for 
the very reason stated, the order was highly agreeable to me, for I 
always considered your letter to me of the 6th February as a Rider to 
the King's commands; and in the whole negotiation I never for one 
moment lost sight of the sound and honorable principles laid down be- 
tween you and me at Rosebank on the 12th January last. 

As in this matter there is a pressure greater than what you and I ever 



56 

contemplated , perhaps and not quite compatible with the free opinion of 
the Sovereign, I read to Mr. Allen and to Mr. Armstrong yesterday my 
memorandum of the conference between you and me on the 12th January 
aforesaid. It was all read to you on that day except a few points dis- 
cussed between us, which I added from memory immediately after you 
left. When you arrive here, 1 shall send the whole to you, for I think 
it is honorable to us both. 

Both Mr. Andrews and Mr. Robertson write to you by this oppor- 
tunity on the obstruction made to the appointment of Robertson as an 
Associate Judge. 

Very sincerely hoping that the restoration of your health may render 
any change unnecessary, and give us the consolation of your presence 
and advice on important occasions, and with kind compliments to Mrs. 
Lee, I remain ever My dear Sir, 

Yours truly, 

R. C. WYLLIE. 

{Extract) Honolulu, Sept. 7th, 1854. 

"By the Reynard several' very alarming letters announcing 4 or 5 
hundred Filibusters as certainly coming were received. Among them 
were letters from Governor Bigler and Mayor Garrison addressed to 
Mr. Gregg. None of my private ^correspondents say one word of any 
danger to the King. Therefore I ,am at a loss, whether to look upon 
the whole as a ruse to frighten the ^King into immediate ratification of 
the treaty, or as a forewarning of real danger. If the latter, in my 
opinion, we can only elude the danger by the Treaty or surmount it by 
martial law and strong measures. 

"The General (Miller) and Mr. Perrin are in great excitement on ac- 
count of what has appeared in the New York Tribune of 22d July. Old 
Greely has placed me in a most uneasy predicament.''- * * * 
To Hon. W. L. Lee, the King's Chancellor, &c. 
Torbertsville, Maui. * Yours truly, 

R. C. WYLLIE. 

LETTER FROM MR. GREGG TO MR. WYLLIE. 

Legation of the United States. 

Honolulu, Nov. 1, 1854. 

" SIR!— Referring to my dispatch to you, of the 12th of September 
last, and also to yours of the 27th ult., I must again be pardoned for 



57 

offering a few suggestions in regard to the present position of our nego- 
tiations for annexation. 

"The absence of His Royal Highness, the Grown Prince, is assigned 
as the reason why they cannot be diplomatically concluded, or other- 
wise settled in a definite manner. I hope I may be permitted to observe 
that I can perceive no special cause for further delay on that account. 
In connection with the Cabinet, he has been an advising party to the 
negotiations from the beginning to the end, — has countersigned our 
protocols, and as I understand, approves the treaty we have agreed 
upon. Why then should his presence be necessary to allow the last 
formal sanction to be given to an act which has already received his 
approbation V The provisions of the Hawaiian Constitution do not seem 
to require it, either as a matter of form or substance, and I cannot 
persuade myself that a much further procrastination will be allowed. 

" It is due to the United States and due to me also, that a conclusion 
of our negotiations should be speedily effected, or some valid reason as-' 
signed, sufficient to justify delay in the eyes of the world. 

" Statemen will hardly find an excuse for neglecting the affairs of 
nations in the protracted absence of His* Royal Highness, especially 
when a few hours, or a few days at most, are ample for his return. 

•* I need not refer you to my own position, — one of extreme delicacy 
and responsibility, — in connection with the negotiations which we have 
brought so nearly to a conclusion. Without formal powers, I responded 
to the invitation of the. King, and consented to discuss the terms of a 
treaty, ad referendum, considering that such a step was likely to meet 
the sanction of my Government. But what is now the condition of 
affairs? The expectations held out to me, and through me to my 
Government, have been extraordinarily delayed, if not altogether dis- 
appointed. The United States came forward upon the solicitations of 
His Majesty, to protect, — to defend him, and to secure against all 
danger, his rights, and those of his people. How have they been met ? 
With months of delay, and now it is said, tnat the absence of the Crown 
Prince from the seat of Government, accounted for by no satisfactory 
political reasons must be the occasion of still further, — perhaps indefi- 
nite delay. 

"Your Excellency will, at once, perceive the embarrassment under 
which I am compeled to labor, and I cannot doubt that you will do me 
the justice to admit that it has not arisen from my own action. I must 
insist, and I think that there is just reason for it, that the negotiations 
which we have completed, shall be formally concluded or broken off 



58 

altogether. This, I am confident, may be demanded on the part of my 
Government, both from a sense of dignity and propriety. 

"I may also add that personal self-respect requires me to urge this 
course, without which I should fail in duty as a representative of the 
United States, and justly deserve the severest censure. In addition, it 
is perhaps only proper to intimate that the armed vessels of the United 
States, now within the waters of the Hawaiian Kingdom, — to some ex- 
tent for the protection of Hawaiian interests, — cannot always remain, 
especially if the American Government, after having been invited to 
enter upon negotiations for annexation, should continue to be met with 
unsatisfactory delays. There are other services in which they may use- 
fully engage, and it cannot be expected that they will be allowed to 
remain unless some stronger reasons exist than arise from the present 
position of affairs. Renewing to you the assurances of my high respect, 
and distinguished consideration, I have the honor to be 
Your Most Obedient Servant, 

DAVID L. GREGG. 
" To His Excellency, 

"E.G. Wyllie, 

"Minister of Foreign Relations.'''' 

FROM WYLLIE TO GREGG. 

Honolulu, Nov. 13th, 1854. 

" Sir: — Reports through various sources, some of them of the highest 
respectability, (including yourself and Capt. Dornin), had reached the 
King's Government, that parties have arrived from San Francisco, and 
that others are expected whose intentions are hostile to the King's 
Government, and dangerous in an eminent degree to the safety of life 
and property in this city. 

" The King's Government being happily in the most friendly relations 
with the Government of the United States, deprecate the intrusion into 
this Kingdom of any of their citizens with such lawless and unjustifiable 
intentions, both as being contrary to the laws of nations, forbidden by 
the laws of the United States, and calculated in an eminent degree to 
create in the public mind here, a prejudice against and a distrust of 
citizens of the United States, whom hitherto the Hawaiian people had 
regarded with, so much merited favor. 

" I need not remark to you that in the event of any insurrection lead- 
ing to the destruction of life and property, the greatest sufferers in this 
city would be citizens of the United States, nor can I for one moment 



59 

doubt that having now in port two sloops of war, belonging to the 
United States, you will promptly take such measures as to you may 
seem discreet, in aid of those which the King's Government will adopt, 
to prevent the many good American citizens, who are living among us 
from being made;a prey of the bad, (I hope they are few), who are said 
to have lately intruded themselves. 

u I am commanded by the King to inquire whether His Majesty's 
Government in an emergency, such as that which has been threatened, 
can count with certainty upon the assistance of the United States sloops 
of war, " Portsmouth " and "St. Mary's." 

"The gallant Gapt. Dornin, through your predecessor, in November 
1853, when a less serious emergency threatened, engaged to land 
promptly such a force on shore as would materially aid that of the Gov* 
ernment to preserve order and secure life and property. I understand 
he is the senior officer of the United States naval forces, fortunately 
now present in the King's State. 

" The King's Government acknowledge no rights of private war, 
either in citizens of the United States or in other individuals; it is their 
bounden duty to protect life and property; they are determined to do so 
to the utmost extent of their power, and to seek assistance from all who 
are able to render it. 

" I am happy to have this occasion to renew the assurance of the high 
personal respect and distinguished consideration with which I have the 
honor to be, Sir, 

Your most obedient and humble servant, 

ft. C. WYLLIE. 

WYLLIE TO LEE. 

November 14, 1854. 
Extract. " We seek from the United States some other remedy than 
revolvers at our ears and bowie knives at our breasts. If the United 
States authorities cannot protect us from such comforters before annexa- 
tion, what hope we reasonably after annexation? This is the common 
sense view of the case, and I wonder that Gregg and Dornin don't see it. '1 

WYLLIE TO LEE. 

Foreign Office, 
Honolulu, November 15, 1854. 

u MY dear LEE:— The result of the meeting of the Cabinet, this day 
was an unanimous agreement that until the Prince and yourself return, 



60 

no action whatever is to be taken on the King's late order; and that I 
am to prepare for submission to the Cabinet, when you are here, a reply 
to Mr. Gregg's separate dispatch of 12th September and to an indiscreet 
one passed to me yesterday, pretending to ignore the origin and gravity 
of the late intimidation that was felt on the 13th, and both Allen and 
Armstrong question the propriety of allowing Gregg to withdraw his 
name from my dispatch of the 13th inst. The result shows that there 
was wise foresiyht in suggesting the insertion of both names. 

u In great haste, 

" Yours ever truly, 

"R. C. WYLLIE. 
" To Wm. L. Lee, 

" Chancellor, Chief Justice, Etc., Lahaina." 

LEE TO WYLLIE. 

Court Room, Lahaina, Nov. 16, 1854. 

" My dear Wyllie: — I have this moment received your two notes 
of the 14th and 15th inst., but as the steamer leaves in a few minutes 
can send but a line in reply. 

" T see no objection to obliging Gregg and Dornin in the small matter 
of omitting their names in your dispatch of the 13th. But why do they 
ask it? Are they ashamed after making so grave a communication to 
you to be known as the authors of that sad report? If it was true, I see 
no reason why they should be. It was a grand mistake they made in 
setting up that scare-crow. The King and chiefs are neither fools nor 
cowards; and can be much more easily coaxed than driven. 

u The subject of your second note is of so serious a nature that I can- 
not reply to it without some consideration. To think in the midst of a 
trial is impossible. I hear the steamer has not been to Hawaii, and 
hence Liholiho is not here. 

" Yours ever truly, 



WYLLIE TO LEE. 



W. L. LEE. 



November 15, 1854. 



" My Dear Lee: — While in the middle of my preceding note of this 
same date, Mr. Young brought down a fresh order from the King, dated 
yesterday, suggesting certain amendments in the Treaty. We had a 



61 

meeting of the Cabinet upon the order, aud have requested Armstrong" 
to prepare a careful translation of it, to be considered to-morrow, at 10 
A. M. 

"The effect will be to justify Mr. Gregg- in assuming that if the 
amendments suggested by the King be adopted, he virtually pledges 
himself to ratify the Treaty. 

" Now are we prepared for this, after the new phase given to things 
by Mr. Gregg and Capt. Dornin themselves, well known to you, — com- 
mented on in my accompanying note, — especially after the alternative 
put to us by Mr. Gregg himself in his separate despatch of the 12th 
September (which you saw), to be either ojf or on with the Treaty ? 

" How otherwise can we understand the following? 

" I am authorized to insist upon the conclusion of such negotiations 
according to diplomatic usage. The alternative seems to me plain and 
imperative. This result must be consummated or I shall feel myself 
obliged to withdraw from any further negotiations, and to declare those 
which have already taken place, at an end." 

And still more objectionable is the following, because it seems to im- 
ply a threat and license for the Fillibusters to overthrow us. ' The 
strong arm of the United States has been solicited for your protection. 
It has been kindly extended and held out, until at length self respect 
must soon dictate its withdrawal.' What think you of that? I must 
confess that I regret that the King has sent me the Order, (which how- 
ever, with the consent of my colleagues I will respectfully obey), before 
we had all in presence of the King, Liholiho and yourself considered 
whether " Self-respect '' after undisguised intimidation attempted, does 
not require us to do something very different to what they would drive 
us to by intimidation. We never in this world, will have such an op- 
portunity to take dignified ground. We can take it now with absolute 
safety to the King and national sovereignty. But good has arisen out 
of intended evil. Are we to miss the opportunity or turn it to the King's 
advantage? I have no time to write to Liholiho, but you will inform 
him of everything. Let me know as soon as possible what you think. 
Mr. Young and I unite in begging you not to attempt so much labor in 
one day. Calculate carefully your strength, and measure your work 

accordingly. 

" Yours truly, 

"R. C. WYLLIE." 

u P.' S. Yesterday Consul-General Miller and Perrin promised to 
send instantly when required, all the disposal force of the '* Trincoma- 



62 

lee" and " Artemise," and to-day Mr. Gregg handed to me a note from 
Capt. Dornin, promising to land 200 men fully armed." 

WYLLIE TO LEE, NOV. 26th, 18-54. 

"The effect of the application authorized by the Cabinet and by the 
King, for assistance, when the danger threatened, has been to elicit 
from the Commissioners of France and the United States, and the Con- 
sul-General of Great Britain, such assurances as to amount virtually to a 
Tripartite military protectorate of the King, if His Majesty should be 
pleased so to understand the official offers severally made. 

" Would it not be well for the King to take that ground, to proclaim 
the fact, — to make the treaty public, — (which Mr. Gregg, it appears, 
has already submitted to the cognizance of the United States officers 
here, of American residents here, and even filibusters from California), 
and to advise as to his present and future policy with the governments 
of the three great naval powers of the world? If we take this ground, 
we sacrifice no right of the King, we do not necessarily lose the treaty, 
we free ourselves effectually from all violence and threatenings of vio- 
lence, and we obtain another, and I think, a very good chance of pre- 
serving the King and the native dynasty in the enjovment of their nat- 
ural rights, as the sovereign rulers of this land. 

" After the threats and the ridicule thrown upon our means of resistance, 
we have agreed to make something of a military demonstration on the 
anniversary of the 28th. 

" There is not one of us who doubts our present perfect safety, and the 
promises officially made to us, we now stand on strong ground, we can 
breathe freely; we can efficiently put down all filibusters, rebels and 
traitors. Are we to show ourselves equal to the emergency or not? This 
is for you and the Privy Council to consider and for us all to consider. 
* * * * * * 

" If the negotiation is to go on with Mr. Gregg, one thing, I must in- 
sist upon, which is that pending the negotiation, he, as Commissioner of 
the United States must bind himself to keep American citizens quiet. 
No treaty can be made under duress; if made so, it is not valid." 

"R. C. WYLLIE." 

WYLLIE TO CAPT. DORNIN, NOV. 27, 2854. 

MY Dear Sir: — It was only this day that I heard that you were to 
leave us so soon. I am sorry that your departure has become necessary; 



63 

and having 1 the utmost regard for you, personally, I am anxious that 
you should not retire under a wrong impression of my feeling in conse- 
quence of the communications made to me on the 11th and 12th inst. 

The 157th Section of Vattel, Chapter 12, Book 2d, is as follows: 

" A treaty is valid if there is no defect in the manner in which it has 
been concluded; and for this purpose nothing more can he required 
than a sufficient power in the contracting parties, and their mutual con- 
sent sufficiently declared." 

Therefore, by international law the highly confidential and delicate 
negotiation between Mr. Gregg and me, in progress since the 6th of 
February, became suspended, under the coercion made known on the 
11th and 12th inst. 

Who is it who has seen the Proclamation of the President against 
filibustering to Cuba, —his proclamation of the 18th of January, 1854, 
against unlawful expeditions in the Pacific, his inaugural message and 
the official declaration of preceding administrations relating to these 
Islands in particular, that could doubt for one moment that if the Pres- 
ident had he heard, what I heard, on the 11th and 12th, he would not 
instantly have ordered that all negotiations should be suspended until 
they could be honorably resumed, after every trace of coercion had 
been removed, and the King's liberty to consent or not to consent, fully 
and unquestionably re-established. The only course that I could pur- 
sue under circumstances, the parallel of which, as far as I know, is not 
to be found in the history of any other nation, — and certainly, never in 
the past experience of this humble Kingdom, is unmistakably designat- 
ed in the above quotation of Vattel, and in Chapter XVIII, Sections 200, 
201, 202. 

Respect to the United States Government,— duty to the King and to 
my colleagues, and I may add, to myself, all alike required, in the most 
imperative manner, that the unlawful threats of foreign intruders should 
be instantly met by the most determined resistance. In less than 48 
hours we were prepared effectually and certainly to put down the insur- 
rectionary attempt that was threatened, even had it come upon us in 
the formidable shape in which it was represented. With the assistance 
kindly promised by yourself, through the Hon. David Gregg, and that 
which was promptly promised by others, the result of a struggle could 
not have been doubtful, the rights of the King would have been vindi- 
cated, — and from all I have seen of the generous and merciful character 
of His Majesty, I would venture to say that the prisoners would have 
experienced at his hands, a clemency so much beyond what the law and 



64 

usage of nation allow, in such cases, as would have filled them with re- 
morse for having ever attempted and conspired to overturn his throne. 

I speak in the supposition that such men can be susceptible of gen- 
erous and ennobling sentiments, which considering the designs imputed 
to them, where they neither had suffered, nor could have suffered any wrong 
whatever , may be very doubtful. Ever since I have been on these Isl- 
ands, I have welcomed the ingress of American citizens; I have made it 
a rule, even in political debate, never to be wanting in personal respect 
to those who held Diplomatic or Consular Commissions from the Pres- 
ident; but I have no such feeling of respect or consideration for filibus- 
ters; and if for that I am to be blamed, then let the censure commence 
with the President himself, for my sentiments correspond with his Pro- 
clamation, and so, I hope will ever my acts. 

In a private note like this, I am forced to speak of myself only; I have 
no right to put words in the mouths of my colleagues, but I know them 
to be at heart gentlemen, and men of honor, and if you believed them to be 
such in every point of their official duty to the King, you can foretell 
precisely what course they will pursue. I am quiet sure that you, 
whose prompt and energetic conduct in the Peninsula of "Bassa Cali- 
fornia" will be recorded in history, as one of the brightest pages, in a 
moral sense, of the annals of the brave American Navy, can never 
blame those gentlemen born in your own country, who act with me, as 
the joint Depositaries of the confidence of King Kamehameha III, for 
uniting their efforts with mine, with the protection of God and of all 
the friends whom the Almighty has given to us, to repel with loathing 
disgust and indignation all filibusters who may come among us with the 
insolent pretension of throwing the weight of their revolvers into the 
balance of our honorable deliberations. 

Since the 12th you have several times remarked that I was too much 
excited. I beg to assure you that neither then nor since have I known 
excitement whatever, beyond that of a strong indignation. As for fear 
I never had one particle of it; but I can assure you had I yielded to 
such an unworthy impulse, and debased myself to the degree of surren- 
dering the King's rights, under the threats of filibusters, and in accord- 
ance with the advice of those residents, seemingly acting in connivance 
with them, my own dearest relations in Scotland, would have shunned 
me as & filthy thing, — and if my American-born colleagues had permitted 
me to make that ignominious surrender, a more plainly to perpetrate the 
treason, the stigma of Arnold would huve clung to them and to me in 
every part of the United States during life time. 



65 

I hope negotiations will soon be resumed on the honorable basis on 
which they were commenced, and free from the influence or control of 
parties who never ought to have known any thing about them. It was 
to you only that I approved of cognizance being given. 

I remain, my dear sir, 

Yours ever truly, 

R. C. WYLLIE. 

GREGG TO WYLLIE. 

January 26, 1855. 

Sir: — It is my duty to enclose to you a copy of a letter addressed to 
me yesterday by Commander Bailey of U. S. S. "St. Mary's," relative 
to the proclamation of the late King, issued on the 2d of December last. 
I cannot suppose that there is any misunderstanding on the part of the 
Hawaiian Government as to the precise extent and meaning of Captain 
Dornin's offer of aid. It has reference to the special emergency appre- 
hended about the middle of November, and of course fell to the ground 
with the dangers, which it was designed to ward off. Neither he nor I 
had any authority to enter into an arrangement looking beyond the 
crisis then supposed to be immediately impending. Our action was 
strictly pro hac vice, and to that extent alone. Popular construction 
gives to the proclamation a sense which could never have been officially 
intended. It bears date long atter the apprehensions of violence had 
ceased to exist, and when the independence of the Islands was supposed 
to be " more firmly established than ever before." The formal acceptance 
of offers of assistance made three weeks previously, — could only have 
been designed as an act of courtesy and acknowledgment to the Powers, 
whose friendly intentions had been manifested on an occasion when 
they were peculiarly acceptable. 

Such was my view of it, founded as I supposed, upon a just apprecia- 
tion of facts. Had I thought that the existence of a permanent tripar- 
tite protection was designed to be intimated, my Protest against such 
an influence would have been prompt, imperative and unqualified. Such 
a thing was never thought of on my part, and could not have been un- 
derstood from any circumstance, which transpired officially or other- 
wise. 

As the Proclamation is still kept standing in the columns of the 
" Polynesian" newspaper, I must beg to inquire how far it is to be un- 
derstood as assuming an existing guarantee of protection by the United 



66 

States of America. I am anxious to remove all occasion of misappre- 
hension, and to preserve unimpaired, not only the substance but the 
semblance of entire good faith and perfect concord, etc., etc. 

(Signed) DAVID L. GREGG. 

Capt. Bailey wrote as follows: 

" It would appear from the proclamation that England, France and 
the United States had agreed to a joint protectorate of the late King. 
Such an agreement would have been directly opposed to the policy that 
has ever been maintained by the United States, and would be in direct 
violation of the course adopted in refusing to unite with England and 
France in securing the possession of Cuba to Spain." 



PROCLAMATION. 

Whereas, It has come to My knowledge from the highest official 
sources, that My Government has been recently threatened with over- 
throw by lawless violence; and, 

Whereas, the Representatives at My Court, of the United States, 
Great Britain and France, being cognizant of these threats, have offer- 
ed Me the prompt assistance of the naval forces of their respective 
countries; 

I Hereby Proclaim My acceptance of the aid thus proffered in sup- 
port of My Sovereignty. My independence is more firmly established 
than ever before. 

Keoni Ana. KAMEHAMEHA III. 

R. C. Wyllie. 

Palace, December 8, 1854. 



TABIaEI of gontents. 



^ 



PAGE. 

Narrative . , 

Appendix A, including — 

Protectorate Proclamation 15 

Resolution of Privy Council 15-16 

Joint Declaration 16-17 

Appeal to the President of the United States 17-19 

Joint Resolution of Legislature 19-20 

Order of the King to Mr. Wyllie 20 

Instructions to Mr. Wyllie 21 

Reply by Mr. Severance to Protest 22-25 



B 



Text of Treaty of Annexation, 26-29 

Newspaper Articles, viz 

Editorial in N. Y. Tribune of July 20, 1854 29-31 

Editorial in N. Y. Herald of June 3, 1854 31 



E 



Protocols Nos. 1 to 12 31-47 

Correspondence . 



Letter from Wyllie to Lee, March 8, 1854 48 

" " Wyllie to Lee, June 23, 1854 48-49 

" " Lee to Wyllie, July 5, 1854 49 

" Wyllie to Lee, July 11, 1854 49 

u " Wyllie to Lee, August 23, 1854 50 

" " Lee to Wyllie, August 29, 1854 50-51 

" " Gregg to Wyllie, September 12, 1854 52-53 

" " Wyllie, to Lee September 13, 1854 54-56 

" u Gregg to Wyllie, November 1, 1854 56-58 

" " Wyllie to Gregg, November 13, 1854. 58-59 

" " Wyllie to Lee, November 14, 1854 59 

" " Wyllie to Lee, November 15, 1854 59-60 

" " Lee to Wyllie, November 16, 1854 60 

" " Wyllie to Lee, November 15, 1854 60-61 

" " Wyllie to Lee, November 26, 1854 62 

" " Wyllie to Capt. Dornin, November 27, 1854 62-64 

u " Gregg to Wyllie, January 26, 1855 65-66 

Proclamation of December 8, 1854 66 

Table of Contents 67 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




